Mirrors and Crystals United
by AngelGlass
Summary: Jareth's world is about to be turned upside down by Sarah. Again. He doesn't realize that Sarah and Toby were abused by their stepmother and stepsister. To save himself and win Sarah, they both must do their part to break the curse that's separating them from the Underground, and save the Goblin Kingdom from dangers untold and hardships unnumbered. (Goddess of Fire is the sequel)
1. How You Turn My World

**As always, I own nothing. All credit goes to Jim Henson for the characters. On we go!**

* * *

King Jareth sat in his throne lazily while listening to the grievances of his subjects. No other monarch in the Underground would even think of doing such a thing, but he was no ordinary monarch. He was the King of Goblins, and Conquerer of the Labyrinth for crying out loud. Goblins were ridiculous creatures and needed over the top reactions to control them. While he loved his job, it got really tiring to not speak to a more sophisticated species sometimes. That was probably why he made the goblins laugh at his jokes, to keep the illusion that they really understood him.

The monarch pinched his nose, trying to not fall asleep. Their grievances were so childish. Two female goblins were arguing because they got in a fight of whose dress was prettier. They each got so angry that one of their houses was set on fire, and Jareth ordered them to help put the house back together and presented both of them with new dresses to shut them up. His training with children in the Aboveground really helped with being king of such creatures.

A large gust of wind bust the marble white doors open, revealing 50 figures. The goblins hurriedly ran away to hide, the parents comforting their babies. Some of the figures were fey, some elves, some fairies, warlocks, and more. Jareth glared at the group for barging in on him and his subjects. Did the ambassadors have no shame? While Jareth wanted to continue with the grievances, he shooed his subjects out of the castle, telling them to come at a different date. It was protocol to have the Ambassadors to be held at a higher importance than his subjects, something that angered him greatly. He made an oath to put his subjects above all else, and yet he was supposed to make the ambassadors a higher priority.

A woman stepped forward. She did not cower beneath Jareth's death stare, but her violet eyes looked at him defiantly. The elven woman wore a golden dress with flowers intricately woven onto the hems of her skirt, in stark constraint to her dark skin. Her chocolate brown hair was in a neat braid down her back, her hands down at her sides. She crossed her right arm across her chest and kneeled on one knee, showing him the ring on her pinky that had the coat of arms of the High Queen of the Underground etched in. This bow indicated her respect to both Jareth and the High Queen as their ambassador.

"Ambassador Valeria, what is the meaning of this disturbance? And what message do you have from Her Excellency?" He knew what she was going to say, and was trying to not lose control. He was normally very good at controlling his temper for appearances, but when the High Queen was concerned, he found he had little tolerance for her.

The elf bowed down, then said "Your majesty. The High Queen has sent NUMEROUS personal messages to you. Why have you not replied?" Every single person in the room knew why, but all were cautious to not implicate anything just yet, formalities and all.

"I am not ready to take a wife, and I am doing just fine on my own, thank you." He was sick and tired of everyone trying to invade his personal life. They all knew about his history with Sarah, every bit of it. In order for his power and kingdom to be fully balanced and to be as powerful as it could be, there must be two monarchs on the throne. And more than ever, he did need more power. He was just too stubborn to admit he did.

"The jiangshi will cross your Labyrinth first! And then they will kill the rest of us!" A young man bellowed. A fairy, Jareth noted, and a young one at that, which would explain his tactlessness. This news did worry him. Though he had placed many provisions to protect the Labyrinth from the jiangshi, it won't last very long. The Labyrinth was the first line of defense. The vampire-zombie creatures grow stronger as the decades grow by, and no one knew where they came from.

The fairy continued his rant. "Take a woman to be your wife, and maybe you'll grow to love her! Is it really THAT difficult?"

The Goblin King had had enough. Did this fairy seriously think that loving was that easy? Did he imply that he hadn't tried to meet each and every one of the women sent to his castle from the each of the monarchs and ambassadors? He got up and angrily jabbed his finger in the fairy's direction. "DO. NOT. DEFY. ME. I will not be told what is good for MY kingdom." He had tried again and again to meet a woman who would be good for his kingdom and for him, but none fit the criteria. His kingdom was on the outskirts of civilization, and not many wanted him. Women would want him for two reasons; 1) because he was very powerful, second to only the High Queen and 2) because of his good looks. They didn't truly want a relationship with him. Plus, there was the regret he had about Sarah and the confusion he felt towards her.

The ambassadors all were worried for him, but also very sick of him. Why couldn't he just pick a woman? It was known that Jareth was charming, and would take good care of his wife. The same elven woman stepped forward. "Her Excellency has given you a timeline. If you do not find someone soon, we will choose one for you. Especially with the threat of the jiangshi that Ambassador Karden just mentioned." Jareth nodded, wanting them to go away.

All of them bowed, and left him. And they didn't have the nerve to even close his doors! He threw a crystal to close it shut, and transported himself to his chambers. Laying on his bed, he let go of his public, stoic persona, and cried to sleep.

* * *

His dreams were memories from long ago, while he was preparing to be king.

 _On his 13th birthday, he woke up to find that his room was full of crystals. While the young fey was panicking, his parents beamed at their son for finally finding out what his magic medium was. "I'm so proud of you son," his mother said. His father nodded. "One day, you'll be able to do so much! Let's celebrate!" All Underground children found their medium on their 13th birthday. While they may do magic through other ways, their mediums will prove to be the most reliable and the strongest form of magic that they can produce._

 _After calming him down, Jareth started perfecting his crystals and even tried a few spells. He made clothes for his parents appear, and they were delighted even though the clothes he created were some of the ugliest they had ever seen. During breakfast, Jareth's arm started to glow. All three stopped eating and stared. Carefully peeling his sleeves, back, his mother gasped when she saw a tiny maze etched on it._

 _"No." His father's eyes filled with tears. This is the marking of a new monarch. You see, the underground doesn't choose monarchs by family ties. Jareth was to be King of the Labyrinth, the most dangerous place of all. Dozens of creatures die in there every day. It was the most dangerous realm, and no one had ever conquered the labyrinth without aid of another monarch before._

 _A man in a deep purple robe appeared in their kitchen. The family was not surprised, they knew that he was there to take their son away to immediately train to be king. Within an hour, Jareth had went from being an excited teenager to having the responsibilities of a king on his shoulders. His mother begged, and the man agreed that Jareth could have one week to stay before he left._

 _After a month of magical training, he received practical training into Above and without magic. All monarchs are required to spend 5 human years in the Above. For the first few weeks, Jareth was lost and alone, miserable and homeless. He went to an orphanage, and found his love of children. He lived terrible conditions there, but was able to make life easier for them._

 _Jareth (or Jared, as he was called by the caretakers) was the best older sibling any of them could've had. He rocked babies to sleep, played dress up, and taught them about the world around them. He worked as a dishwasher boy in the kitchen for his living. The young king was most curious about the protests going on all the time. The American civil rights movement was going on, and he couldn't fathom how people of the same species could discriminate based on color or gender alone. He made sure to look out for the non white children the most as this orphanage was a rare one that didn't segregate them._

 _On his 18th birthday, he was again whisked away, this time to rule as king. He was angry that he was uprooted so quickly for the second time, without a chance to say goodbye to the children, especially the abused ones. While he was still kind and patient, he became more bitter towards the world and more secluded._

* * *

He felt a familiar tug that pulled him out of sleep. _Sarah_ , he thought. It's been 5 years since he'd heard from her. He was too stubborn and too heart broken to look into her life, except for at the park when she was 16, and only because his goblins had escaped. He snapped his fingers to dress himself in his poet's shirt with tights and boots, a comfortable yet formal attire. With a swirl of glitter, he landed in her room.

* * *

 **Hey guys, so this is my first fanfic. I've tried to write some in the past, but they just never worked out. I'm determined to actually write this one and finish it and forced myself to post the first chapter here so that anyone that's following it will help me to actually be motivated! Don't forget to leave a review and thank you all so much.**


	2. You Precious Thing

Sarah paced back and forth. This was the umpteenth time that Karen sided with Lisa about Toby, and it was the last straw for Sarah. Abusing her was one thing, but beating Toby? AND giving him a large welt on his head? Disgusting. With Karen having so much power, she can't just tell people that her stepmother and stepsister were abusing her half brother, especially with her "troublemaker" record.

She wasn't even a trouble maker. She ran away from home and school a few times and smoked to drown her feelings out. She finally turned around and is now an editor at the local newspaper, something that Karen used to show off. _"Oh look at me, I'm so amazing and I raised an amazing stepdaughter! And I helped turn her life around!"_ Sarah would've left home long ago but stayed for Toby. She admitted to herself that she did take it out on Toby and yelled at him as a baby, but she never hurt him and since her Labyrinth run, she knew that she would always love him.

Like the last time she had called him, thunder and lightening split the sky in half. Her windows busted open, and an owl flew in to transform into a tall, blonde king. Sarah took a deep breath in before really looking at him.

The Goblin King looked exactly the same, but maybe a bit more tired. He had the same mismatched eyes, though they no longer shone with playfulness. He seemed almost sad, she noted. His hair was still that same style, with the different lengths and so very light. He wasn't wearing dark clothes this time, but a white flowing shirt with grey tights (thank god the shirt was long and covered his, well, you know). His black boots fit him well and his arms were crossed like that fateful night 5 years ago.

She wasn't sure how to begin. None of the words she had rehearsed in her mind sounded right. _Hey, what's up?_ didn't sound right to her. _Thanks for coming_ didn't seem to convey the gravity of the situation either.

After what seemed like hours, Jareth spoke, relieving her of the burden. "Sarah, why did you ask me to take Toby, again?" She had uttered the same words as last time, but he knew that it was with more thought and caution this time. Unlike her 16-year-old self, who yelled the words in frustration and anger to take the baby away.

"He is not safe here," she said simply. "I don't really want to go into it." Her green eyes were just as sad as his, but still as defiant as last time. "I asked for him to be taken, and this time, I mean it. But apparently you just have to be contradictory, don't you?" She lashed at him.

The king pursesd his lips together, annoyed but didn't take her bait, something Sarah gave him credit for. He invited himself to sit on her bed, and patted a spot next to him, indicating for her to sit down. _What games are being played now?_ , she asked herself. _And he has the nerve to sit on MY bed!_ As if this was his room or castle. She stood still, refusing his offer, but not kicking him off just the same. She didn't know if he would get angry with her and she was too upset to deal with an angry, magical being when it was bad enough with her stepmother and stepsister.

"Sarah, I cannot take him back. You wished him away once, and he cannot be wished away again. There is nothing I can magically do. I will ask again, what's going on?" He didn't even have to answer her call, but curiosity got the better of him. He saw how lovely she was. Sarah was a cute child, but had grown into a beautiful young woman. Her dark hair was fuller and her eyes seemed greener. Her body was now shaped like a woman, but he didn't allow himself to think beyond that. He refused to let feelings or attractions for her remerge in his heart.

Sarah was getting irritated with him. She didn't owe him a single explanation. She stared at her hands, and Jareth finally got up. "Fine. I have a kingdom to attend to. Good night."

Sarah would've let him go, but She was determined to help Toby. The Labyrinth Champion panicked, and grabbed onto his arm. "Please," she begged. Jareth turned back, surprised. Both of them were very aware of how intimate the position was.

He breathed out deeply, and sat back down on the next to Sarah, giving her a look indicating that he was waiting for her explanation. This time, she joined him but carefully made some space between them.

"Goblin King," she began. "No." "What?" "Sarah, you have defeated my Labyrinth, a feat no other human has ever done before. As a Labyrinth Champion, I give you permission to call me by my name, Jareth." The truth was that it hurt to hear her call him by his title. It felt so formal and distant.

"Jareth... okay." She took another breath and shuddered, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She turned around, not wanting to see his impatient face.

But it wasn't the reaction she was expecting. "It's alright, take your time," he told her gently, conjuring some tissues for her. Sarah nodded, appreciating him, but wasn't used to his kindness. She took the tissue from his hand, and gave him a small smile. He smiled back, giving her space. Whatever it was, young Toby must be in great danger.

"Jareth... Toby and I have been abused for years by our parents and Lisa-" Jareth cut her off. "Wait, who is Lisa?" Sarah looked at him with an exasperated expression, thinking that he was feigning ignorance. "Lisa is my stepsister, from Karen's pervious marriage. Now please don't interrupt me again." She looked at him, as if daring for him to question her, but instead saw understanding and compassion in his eyes. Maybe he wasn't as mean as she thought he was? And why was he so different than from their time in the Labyrinth?

Shaking her head to clear heard head of her questions, she continued. "Lisa is about my age, slightly older. She got extremely jealous of Toby when he was born. Part of it may be that Karen and Dad used a surrogate and didn't tell us about it until about a month before he was born. Lisa always got everything and always blamed me for the simplest things. I'm not just saying it for attention, I know it's true. And she never had to help care for Toby either.

"I once caught her hitting Toby. He was only 6 months old, and had eaten her jewelry. Instead of tying to get it out, she threw the rest of the broken necklace at him and threw a tantrum, calling Karen. I saved Toby from choking to death, and Karen also hit Toby just as her daughter did. I had never seen anything like it. He was only a baby and they hit him... They did many times. I had thought about calling the police, but you see, Karen's late husband was a politician. She has too much influence. Plus, who would listen to me... someone who has a bad record of running away from home and other things. I got arrested once because of Lisa. Lisa stole multiple books of mine when I was about 14 and I called her names. She punched me and my friends had protected me, but she twisted it to make it look like I hurt her. I've also had records of 'mistreating' her at school. When we moved, very few people wanted to be my friend because of her. I have no one else to trust, to turn to. People would find me. Karen would manipulate me and make me rethink whether she was a bad mom or not. Life as a goblin would be better for him than this. I know that you'd at least care for him." The Goblins has shown her how he played with Toby while she was running.

Jareth was speechless, and bewildered. He had no idea this was happening to her. He knew of her stepmother, but not the abuse or her stepsister. He thought back on her behavior during her run in his labyrinth, and it honestly made sense that she was abused. _"_ _It's not fair!"_ So there WAS a basis for comparison. Or when he saw her with that teddy bear, could it be that she had developed some strange coping mechanism? And turn Toby into a goblin? Why on earth did she think that? He resisted the urge to comfortingly pat her back, knowing that it would scare his Champion away.

Jareth paused for a moment, wanting to take it all in. _My poor Sarah, he thought_. "Sarah, I do not have any solutions for you right now. But, I will do my best help you. And by the way, Toby would not have been a goblin. He would have been turned into a fey, like me. In fact, I was thinking of raising him myself. I know itt's hard to believe, but I am good with children." He silently wondered why she was so scared of him, yet trusted him at the same time.

After his words sunk in her head, Sarah lost it, and sobbed. "You mean, you mean he would've been happy with you? I should've lost! Oh what have I done?" She collapsed into the floor. Jareth sank down to the ground with her, his gloved hand gently on her elbow. "Shh, you did what you thought was best for him." Sarah rested her head on Jareth's shoulder, sobbing into his shirt while he held her close, supporting her.

The pair sat like that for a while, until Jareth's pendant grew hot red. _Trouble_ , he thought. "Sarah, I'm sorry. My kingdom is in danger, and I must go check. I will come visit soon. And don't worry, we will figure it out together." Sarah nodded. "Thank you, Jareth." She gave him a small smile, a smile which he returned. Bowing, he spun his cape around his body and disappeared.

The moment he landed in his throne room, he could just _feel_ the evil energy surrounding the Labyrinth. It was unmistakably the jiangshi. "Vampires and zombies and ghosts, oh my," he muttered, trying to calm himself down. He HATED dead things and vampires, so to have jumping-vampire-zombies that wanted to destroy him was just the definition of his nightmares.

He transformed into his owl form and flew to the Labyrinth, and found dozens of jiangshi outside its borders. Seeing the monsters, he knew someone was responsible for making them stronger. Most of them should have been the white or dark haired, the first two levels of progression. Instead, many were in the 3rd or 4th level, running and flying. No way they could've gotten that strong in such a short amount of time on their own.

He threw a crystal in the air and doused gasoline on about half of them before setting them on fire. Any other method took too long and too much energy for him. The green, rotting flesh made him feel sick, and he felt even worse knowing that these creatures used to be different creatures of the Underground, and probably had loved ones somewhere.

He sent an immediate evacuation warning to his subjects via crystal. Alone and determined, Jareth rolled up his sleeves and fought them off group by group. The flying ones were terrifying, to say the least. Their screeches pierced the air and their fangs the sharpest. Like any king and warrior, he put aside his emotions and fears to fight, letting only anger and determination fire him through.

This went on for hours and Jareth just didn't have the energy to fight anymore. None of his ambassadors answered his call, probably due to anger from their previous meeting. _Fair enough_ , he thought. _I'll just take care of this myself._

He didn't notice that one of the stronger jiangshi had snuck up behind him. The mighty king tried to get it to back down, but alas, it was too big and too heavy. He was pinned down and it bit him. Hard.

Jareth screamed, rolled from undefeated it, and ran, but came to a dead end in his own Labyrinth. _Seriously?_ His powers were fading fast. He heard a shuffle, and slowly turned around to face his fears.

The monster stood still, staring at his next meal. It had grown large, with eyes red as the blood. Jareth knew there was no way out by just escaping. He had to defeat it before it devoured his subjects as well.

The jiangshi eyed the king, and flew towards him, mouth open. Thinking quickly, Jareth conjured a peach and stuffed it in its mouth, making the vampire-zombie choke and disappear.

The bite was growing worse. Knowing that would be turned into one of them soon, he got up, panting, and froze every one of them. "That should keep them at bay for 2ish years," he thought. His only chance of survival was to return to the Above.

And return he did.

* * *

 **Thanks for everyone who has read this and gave it a chance! This chapter was mostly to introduce the Sarah-Jareth dynamic. As you can see, neither are quite willing to give each other a chance, but that will change soon! (Hehe). I wanted to be somewhat realistic (as much as one can in a fantasy fanfic) with their relationship and to have Jareth be respectful of Sarah's own personal space. Jumping into just making out doesn't quite make sense, and you'll see later why and how Jareth came to love Sarah in the next chapter.**

 **I'm not good at writing horror stuff, so I picked the jiangshi because that's one of the freakiest things in can think of. I used to have nightmares about them when I was younger from my Chinese relatives telling me weird stories. Here's some background about them:**

 **They are from Chinese folklore. These are said to be from restless spirits who have had a funeral, and have not been buried, wanted to go to their home to be buried (Chinese believe that you should be buried in your home town), or someone conjured them. They are often called the jumping vampire zombies because they're rigid and jump and feed on blood. They feed on cattle and have 6 levels of power. The first one has white hair, and is pretty harmless as they are scared of humans. The second level is if they have been feed for about 5 years and are scared of dogs, cats, and humans, but will attack and feed on people in their sleep. The third level is bald and can run fast, and this is about 10ish years after death. The fourth level occurs after 100 years and can fly. The fifth level can transform. The 6th level is a demon god, and can fight even gods.**

 **So that's the gist of it. If you want to see how they're defeated, you guys can wiki it if you want, I won't put it here since I'll be using it in the story. :)**


	3. Under Pressure

**So I went ahead and posted 3 chapters because why the heck not? Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter within the next week. Please let me know how it's going! And I know this sounds silly but I'm pretty sensitive, and while you can write whatever you want, please be nice. It took me a lot of courage to actually post a story.**

* * *

As soon as he got back, he was instantly healed from his cut. Unfortunately, the jiangshi took away most of his powers and he had no idea how to defeat them after the ice thawed. He cursed when he noticed that his pendant had been ripped away, taking away his ability to be connected to his kingdom.

It was dark, and he had no idea where he was. The only place he had ever been to was Washington D.C., where he was sent to the Above as a child for "Kingly Training" as his subjects called it. He didn't even know where Sarah resided, having only seen the inside of her room and the park she was in. He was desperate, and conjured one last crystal to contact the last person he wanted to talk to.

The clear crystal turned opaque, then cleared to reveal a half horse, half man. The centaur had freckles dotted all over his body, his chest bare and had a head of red hair. His eyes were a seaweed green color that shone with mischief, something that irritated Jareth more than goblins defying his orders.

"Southern Guardian, I need advice," the king choked out. He was not one to ask for help, but he was desperate. The Southern Guardian wasn't very helpful at times since he would sometimes speak in riddles or choose to opt out at will. He rarely had empathy and would only help when there was something in it for him. But, Jareth could always trust on him being truthful. "My magic is nearly gone from being bitten by the jiangshi, and my kingdom is in suspension from ice. Someone must be controlling them on purpose for their strength to progress this quickly. I need to know how to get my magic back and how to save my kingdom."

Mocking the humble king, the centaur smirked. "I see that the Labyrinth Conquerer is not so powerful anymore. But, as always, my advice comes with a price." Jareth nodded, knowing that he had no other choice. "And, what is it that you require of me?" He gritted his teeth so hard that he thought they would pop out of his head.

"Temper, temper, my Goblin King. Now, if you do not get your magic back, you will live out your days miserably as a mortal in the Above. Comfortable enough, but without friends or a loved one. And there would be no need to pay any price." Jareth's heart twisted at this, but he kept his expression a stoic one. "My only price is that you will appoint one of my people as your ambassador."

Jareth didn't like the idea. If he had an ambassador from the Southern Sphere, he would have to give access of some of the Labyrinth's power to them, that was part of the agreements. On the other hand, he does get magic back form them as well. He hoped that he wasn't being tricked, centaurs are known for their selfishness. He nodded. It was like he had a choice.

"In order to get your magic back, you must get Sarah to fall in love with you."

"No," growled Jareth. "I cannot and will not force her to." He would never win a woman that way, especially Sarah. The Southern Guardian rolled his eyes. "So noble. But, you'll be pleased to know that it wouldn't work anyways. She needs to truly love you and of her own will."

How could he make her love him? He wasn't even sure if they could be friends. But, it was a relief that she didn't have to be forced. What if she was already dating someone? He had no idea.

"And before you ask, you absolutely CANNOT tell her about your childhood with her. She needs to love you as you are now, and not because of some memory." Jareth's ears perked up. "Well damn," he muttered. He was hoping to use that point, but now he can't.

"One more thing." The Centaur stated. "You must prove your love for her by making an enormous sacrifice on her behalf, at least it will be big to you. It will happen without you even knowing it, and it may kill you if she doesn't do her part. This sacrifice and her willing love for you is the key to your happiness and magic."

Jareth couldn't believe his ears. How on earth could the Southern Guardian have asked him this? He thought carefully before his next sentence. "Will my kingdom be safe without my help? And why has her memory gone away?" Even on his knees begging, the Goblin King couldn't get the centaur to do anything but laugh. "Sorry. I am done talking to you. Heed my words, Goblin King. Good luck."

Jareth yelled for him to respond, but the crystal just turned back to what it was before, with his frustrated face staring back at it. The once mighty king knew that all his magical powers were gone, and threw the crystal out in anger. Instead of shattering, it popped on the ground like a bubble. Dragging himself to a bench, he prepared himself for a very cold night ahead.

* * *

 _"Jareth, must you go now?" Her green eyes were streaked with tears and her young heart was so very fragile. The young female fey looked at the young male fey, who had just turned 13, the age where all magical creatures learn their medium. Jareth would be whisked away from her for years and by the time he would be back, he would be much older than her._

 _The blond, male fey had a depressing look in his mismatched eyes. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I don't want to leave either. I don't want to be king and I don't want to be brave..." She was the only person that he could be 100% honest to about his insecurities. Sarah and Jareth were best friends from the time they were 8 years old, when Jareth's parents moved into the village to be nearer to his grandparents._

 _"So, what will happen? To us?" Sarah wrung her hands in nervousness. It was the first time either of them had brought up the feelings for each other. They may be young, but there was no doubt that those two had something special between them._

 _Jareth's heart skipped a beat. Did she mean what he thought she meant? "W-what do you mean?" He didn't want to pretend he didn't feel the same way, nor embarrassed himself if she didn't mean it._

 _"I mean, Jareth, you're more special to me than any other boy... more than a friend..." Sarah didn't even have time to look up before the future king embraced her. Finally, she let her tears fall on his shoulder. "Oh Sarah... there there. I feel the same for you! It's okay. You'll be okay..."_

 _After lots of tears, Sarah spoke. "You'll be king. You'll marry some beautiful and powerful woman." Her voice was so sad and bitter. "No," said Jareth. "Stop," said Sarah. "You need to choose what's good for the kingdom. It'll be years, maybe you'll find someone else..." she looked sad again._

 _Jareth didn't want to admit it, but she was right. He was free to choose who he wanted, but it was still his responsibility to choose a bride that will benefit the kingdom as well. If he did not, his subjects will not have the protection they needed and they will pay for his mistake._

 _"Sarah, you are beautiful." His shaky hand dared to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, making her blush. "And besides, you don't even know if you're powerful or not. You're not 13 yet. Maybe your medium is fire or wind or something powerful like that!" He wiped a tear from her cheeks as she smiled at him. He reached for her hand and held it in both of his. "Tell you what," Jareth continued, intertwining their fingers together. "I promise that if my feelings do not change, and I'm very sure they won't, and if I am not finding someone else, I promise to find you and try to date you. That is, if you're in the same situation. I know that I'll age faster than you in the Above, but I'll wait for you to mature too. I promise."_

 _Sarah looked at him thoughtfully. She was still worried that he'd love someone else, but nodded. "Yes," she breathed. Jareth squeezed her hand._

 _As they were sitting on the grass comfortably, Jareth tried making another crystal, but dropped it instead. "Damn!" He cursed. "I'm too nervous." His sweaty hands made it all slippery and it ruined his aim. He had been trying all week to at least not drop it and was more ashamed of messing up since Sarah was sitting next to him. "Oh, I almost forgot." Sarah handed him a package. "I made this for you, as a parting gift. I hope it's useful."_

 _Sarah's face turned to a beautiful shade of pink. Intrigued, Jareth untied the ribbon and found a pair of leather gloves. His Sarah was known for being a really talented seamstress, and he could feel the sturdiness of the black gloves. "I asked Grandma Elise to help me enchant them so that you can use magic while you're wearing them. They will always be clean, you just need to pinch the thumbs like this." She demonstrated by pinching both thumbs, and the dirt on them immediately disappears. "You should be able to grip the crystals just fine with them. Umm, I hope you like it." She blushed again._

 _Jareth marveled at the craftsmanship. "You did this all yourself? I mean the non magic parts? And for me?" She nodded. Sarah's heart burst with pride, as she had made these herself and missing out on sleep to make them. Jareth resisted the urge to kiss her, knowing that if he did, it would make things that more difficult._

* * *

While he hated using his charm to manipulate women, Jareth was desperate for a job and a place to live. Finally, after a week of living on the street, a kind woman and her daughter offered Jareth a job at a local coffee shop. He also found a place to stay from begging and charming a nearby innkeeper. He HATED being a barista, but what could he do? He also got a "normal" haircut and some "normal" clothes well. He of all people hated the idea of "normal." He wasn't normal in this world. Hell, he wasn't even normal in his own world.

He really didn't have a plan, but figured that he should try to find Sarah sometime. Unfortunately, he was working so hard and such long hours to pay for rent and food that he didn't have time. Every night he feared for the goblins that were trapped around the ice, hoping that they were still there and not killed or turned by any jiangshi that he may have missed. How he wished that he could use a crystal to look at them. He could only hope that they were just eating through their emergency food supply to avoid those monsters.

Eventually, he sat down to actually find "Sarah Williams" in the phone book. He really had no idea what to say to her, but this was a start.

Imagine the king's surprise when in walked the same 21-year-old girl he had seen a month ago, asking for some honey ginger tea. Sarah looked exhausted, but had a nice smile on. She had an overcoat on to protect herself from the cold autumn weather and a stack of papers under her arms. He noticed that she was dressed quite nicely, a black pencil skirt and a beautiful white blouse. She had minimal make up on that enhanced her naturally lovely features. Very professional and beautiful indeed, but he still preferred Underground clothing to this.

The moment Sarah turned around, she jumped in shock from seeing Jareth. She dropped her papers, then quickly gathered them up. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

She glided towards the king, and sat herself down next to him. Jareth was afraid of her. He had seen her this mad only a handful of times in his life, but never at him. He kept a bored stare, something he was an expert at since he became king. "What on EARTH are you doing?" She hissed, not wanting to draw attention towards them. "I called you a month ago, and you promised to be back. I called you EVERY NIGHT and you never respond. And you have the gall to show up here? What games are you playing?!" Her voice had risen to a careless yell, gathering the attention of the other customers. "Well, you are out of your territory now. You can't use cleaners to hurt me, or those, those hands! Or trick me into eating that poisoned peach!"

Jareth was very aware at how this must've sounded to the onlookers. He made a tiny circle with his finger, so only Sarah could see, indicating that the restaurant probably saw him as an abusive boyfriend. "Oh." Her face turned red as she noticed the shop owner turned to call 911. "I didn't mean, wait. He didn't, he's okay. Please don't call the police. I promise he didn't do anything he's just... annoying and a brat." She huffed. Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Really Sarah. You had to either accuse me of abuse, or use the most pathetic insults. Such a shame you couldn't find words that were better." The crowed snickered, and Jareth relaxed, knowing that they weren't going to put him in jail anymore.

Sarah pursed her lips into a straight line and put her hands on her hips, something she did as a child, Jareth noted. "You know what, glitter-boy?" More snickers. "You need to give me an explanation immediately, and it better be a good one."

Jareth pretended to consider her words for a moment just to infuriate her, then closed the large phone book shut, and placed it back on the counter. "Challenge accepted." He got up and signaled for Sarah to leave with him. "Shall we?"

The Labyrinth Conquerer and the Labyrinth Champion walked out, side by side.

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 **This was such a fun chapter to write, especially the sweet and innocent interactions Jareth and Sarah have. Now you know why Jareth loves her so much! I know you all are probably waiting for Sarah to stop being so dramatic and for Jareth to confess his feelings he already, but she's not going to be easy to win. So I kinda borrowed the idea from Beauty and the Beast, where he has to get her to love him. I wanted them to have a past so Jareth doesn't seem random and obsessive over her, more full of regret. Or the fact that an older man wasn't falling for a teenager. I also wanted them to be a little more mature in their promise to be together. That's why in the first chapter, I stated that he tried to find a wife but no one was willing to put forth the effort to be a good wife or queen. Thanks again for reading!**

 **I promise I will finish this fic no matter what. I have the ending planned out already so it's just the journey there! :** **D**


	4. Barely Even Friends

**Uh oh, Jareth and Sarah are going to get pretty angsty this chapter. Thanks for the three people who are following me, it means a lot! And I hope more of you will continue to read my story and maybe even review it too. I've finally figured out the format of how the stories will appear (I think, I'm not too sure but if you have advice please let me know).**

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The Goblin King and his Champion stepped out of the restaurant, nearly in sync. When Sarah pointed this out, the fey-turned-human had to resist teasing her, at least too much. He knew he was on thin ice with her, and desperately didn't want to mess up a chance with her.

"Stop that." Sarah hated it when anyone messed around with her.

"Stop what?" Jareth actually didn't notice at first. Then smiled under his scarf.

"You know." She stepped over a log.

"I'm confused." He moved a branch out of the way.

"The synchronization of our steps!"

"Oh?"

"Never mind."

It was the exact same type of teasing he had done so many years ago. The only difference was that she would never give up so easily. How it pained him to see her like this, so miserable and scared for the future when it once shone so brightly in her favor. He was really regretting letting his heartbreak prevent him from watching her. He might've been able to help her earlier.

"So, are you going to explain your month-long absence, or not?" She really wanted him to get to the point. Sarah didn't like how she acted around him. She thought that she should be hating him for being the "bad guy" and stealing her brother. And yet, for some odd reason, she trusted him enough to see her at night to take Toby away again. He was also so kind that night, giving her tissues and being compassionate. _Stay focused_ , she told herself firmly. _Remember all the crazy stuff in the Labyrinth and the snake he threw and the goblins!_

Jareth twiddled a bright red leaf in his fingers. _Where did he get that from?_ Sarah asked herself mentally. She didn't remember seeing a tree with red leaves that close to them or him picking anything off the ground.

"Sarah, have you heard of the jiangshi?" "The jang-what?" "Jee-ung-shu," he pronounced slowly. "They're basically vampire-zombies that get stronger the more they feed on blood." Sarah's eyes opened wide. She could see Jareth adjusting his fedora as if to say _now I have your attention._

"The jiangshi will turn someone into them if bitten, like a zombie or vampire would if the victim didn't die. You remember the night I visited you last?" She nodded, still trying to wrap her head around such horror. She had no idea that the Underground had anything worse than what she dealt during her run, and felt ignorant for thinking so.

"Well that night, my pendant was glowing red, meaning that something dangerous happened to my kingdom. I went back and dozens of them were all along the walls. They had been a nuisance for a while, but weren't that strong yet. Easy enough to get rid of by a dog's bark or some normal mirrors. But, they got stronger somehow. Stronger than they should have. It should've taken them hundreds of years before they could run and fly instead of just slow hops!"

Did she notice him shudder? No, that couldn't be. Not the fearless goblin king. "First thing I did was to evacuate my subjects. After that, I fought them alone. One of the stronger ones cornered me, and bit me. I had no option but to go to the Above as soon as I could before I turned as well. The rest is history."

They stopped at a crosswalk, standing in silence for a few minutes before Sarah asked a question. "And why did you come here? How would that have helped?" Jareth scratched the back of his head before answering. "To make a long story short, the jiangshi used to be quite prevalent in the Above. After eradicating them, ancient sorcerers and other early magicians used a spell to sort of vaccinate the earth, if you will. Jiangshi still occur once in a while but they're not that much of a threat. Anyone who comes to the Above is instantly cured from their venom, but with the price of losing their magic. I had no one near me to cast a spell to cure me. And even if I did, I most likely would not have someone strong enough to do so."

Sarah was worried about him. _No, just concerned for her friends in the Underground_ , she corrected herself. Did it mean that he couldn't use magic? And what of the Labyrinth and it's inhabitants?

She voiced these questions out loud. "Ah yes, I almost forgot." The Goblin king said lazily as they went in the park near her house. Neither of them realized what was happening and why they gravitated there, but they took seats next to each other on a bench. "You see, I used my last bit of magic to freeze the jiangshi, it should last 2 years I think. I don't know if my subjects are as well," he paused, looking sad. "But, I hope they are. There's nothing I can do about it right now." He sadly dropped the red leaf into the mound of dirt next to him.

"Nothing?" Sarah could feel his sadness and real worry for all the creatures in his care. Being king wasn't just glitter and unicorns, but a huge weight on one's shoulders.

"Well, I contacted the Southern Guardian. A centaur," he answered her unspoken question, "who can give you advice on things. He's also really vague at times, so you'll never know what you'll get. He was my last resort since I was not able to contact anyone else. Gave me some riddle saying that I'll make some big decision that won't seem that big and it'll make me king again." He sighed, pleased at his choice of words. He was honest without really giving anything away. He took off his hat and placed it in his lap. "Then I found a job and a place to live. But, I cannot think about what I cannot control. Let's talk about your brother." By this point, he picked up his fedora and was spinning it around on his finger.

Sensing that he was done with her asking questions, Sarah just let it all sink in. She was still very confused and not sure of what to think. His words seemed true enough. She nodded, but changed her mind. She had other pressing questions to discuss.

She wasn't sure how to phrase anything, and decided that honesty was probably the best way to go. "Wait, why were you so awful to me during my run? And why hadn't a human beaten your Labyrinth before?"

Jareth stroked his chin for a bit. He supposed, that he could just tell her the truth. "You see, Sarah, I was the first person and only person to conquer the Labyrinth. I am referred to as the Labyrinth Conquerer along with my Goblin King title. I ran the Labyrinth at age 18, and I had 13 days to defeat it. Now," he held up a hand before she could interrupt again. "You had 13 hours, but let me finish first. This is why you have the title of Champion and not Conquerer. My run was my last 'training' to be king. You would've died trying, but I was immortal. Actually, I might've died as well. The Labyrinth was untamed, and after I completed it, I got my crown and bend it to my will. It was hell, I'll tell you that much. I still cannot control every part of it, for the Labyrinth is alive. I was only able to prevent it from killing anyone.

"The Labyrinth tests the strength, compassion, and wit of the runner. You are the reason YOU won. In short, you forced me to act the way that I did. I'm still trying to figure it out, but somehow, you were able to bend me to help you and be the villain at the same-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP." Sarah tore her scarf off, balled it up, and threw it at his chest. "What in the name of-" "NO JARETH. YOU LISTEN TO ME. You took Toby away and MOCKED ME. NOT OKAY. You gave me that book and I was just following what it said! Don't be manipulative and throw this on me! Karen and Lisa do it all the time and don't pretend that I can't see that you're doing that exact same thing. I will not be blame for YOUR actions! Grow up and take responsibility for tournament own choices." She started to walk away, and Jareth wasn't going to stand for that.

He caught up to her and stood in front of her. "What the f-" "DO NOT. I gave you explanations and when I was done talking, and you run away like this? How DARE YOU?" Sarah stepped back. She had never seen him so angry. He'd been mean and intimidating, but not mad.

He continued his rant. "You dare accuse me of manipulating you? Do you really think so lowly of me? And what book are you talking about?" He was hurt, but he also knew that both of them were being prideful. Nevertheless, neither were willing to let up.

"WHY YES!" Sarah bellowed back at him. "What other reason for it was there? You're just bitter about the fact that I BEAT YOU!" Both the king and his champion were trying to stare each other down.

He scoffed. "Oh please. You would never have won!"

"Then you should've let me lose! Toby would be safe and not hurt! You're just prideful!" She crossed her arms, trying to ignore the onlookers who were running away from the screaming pair.

"Didn't I tell you that I couldn't control most of my actions since it was YOUR fault, and that I had no idea Toby was being abused? Do you not listen at all?" He placed both hands in his hair under his hat, making motions of wanting to yank his hair out.

Sarah threw her hands in the air. She was SO done with this glorified, tight-wearing, glitter king. "I never wanted anything! And stop blaming me! How do you know whether it was my fault or not?"

"Do you deny the fact that you've wanted to win? That you wanted to feel special, and beat some villain? Because, Sarah, as difficult as it was for you, you still would not have won it WITHOUT ME. I helped you win, yes, even with upping the stakes! I know you're not a normal girl who wants a knight in shining armor, but you still had your idea of a fairy tale. And somehow, with some magic, you were able to do that."

His words rang true to her ears, but she didn't want to let up. She didn't want to admit that she wanted a handsome king to be a villain in her story. She didn't want to say anything about the book either. God damn it, she was 21, a grown woman!

"Now," said Jareth, taking her silence for acceptance, "If you want, we can find the magical object or whatever it was at a later time. Let's go see Toby. If you want me to help you, you need to let me see him." He took a gamble, and held out his arm for her. The worst she would do is refuse, right?

Apparently not. Her green eyes narrowed into thin slits, and Jareth realized that the worst was yet to come. "Oh? And do what? Steal him again? YES I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM AGAIN I MEANT HERE, in the Above! I'm done with you. Kiss my ass goodbye!" She stomped away, and this time, Jareth didn't follow her, but stomped away in the opposite direction.

* * *

It was a week since he argued with Sarah. The 26 year old human was reading a small book in his small room. Or, at least that was how old he appeared. Time in the Underground and the Above didn't move consistently. He was not very in tune with his emotions anymore. After being king, he had pushed them down so much that he forgot how to even behave like a normal person. Thinking back to when Sarah had her Run, he saw that he was awful at expressing his feelings to her and came off as intimidating and proud. It was the result of being a king to not only his subjects but to deal with the other monarchs. Many women would find it alluring, but that was not what Sarah was like. She was still emotional and easily provoked. He had to be careful and be kinder to her situation.

Swallowing his pride, Jareth went to her house to see her. He hesiatated for a moment, then told himself it was now or never. He raised a gloved hand to knock on the door. _If she won't talk to me_ , he thought. _I'm going to be done. I won't harass her. I'm not that kind of man._

To his delight, Sarah did answer the door. She looked surprised then annoyed. Not angry, he noted. Just annoyed. It was an improvement, at least.

"Sarah, please accept my apologies. I should've been more understanding of your situation. However, I will not apologize for telling the truth. I believe I may have figured out most of why I acted the way I did during your run it must be the book." He paused for a moment, waiting for her response.

Sarah really hated admitting that she was wrong, although she did apologize frequently. She was working on not being prideful. She nodded. "I'm sorry as well. I was stressed and not sure about you or your motives. I still am not." Jareth nodded and returned her scarf as well.

"If you'd like to speak more, I'd be happy to. We can even find the book and find some answers there. But if not, I'll be on my way." Sarah shook her head, and gestured out. "Well, good day, my Champion." Sarah hesitantly gave him a small wave good bye, but she quickly changed her mind.

"Wait, Jareth!" She ran towards him in her ratty clothes and kitchen apron. "Maybe, maybe I can get to know you better. To trust you. And then you can meet Toby and you guys can be friends." Jareth beamed. This was the Sarah that he knew and loved. He did notice that she only mentioned about him being friends with Toby and not with her. He hid his disappointment at that statement. "I'd like that," he settled.

"And, umm," Sarah massaged the back of her neck. "I'd like to be friends too, if that's okay." She looked up at him timidly.

His smile got wider, if possible. "I'd love to, Sarah." She shifted around awkwardly, confusing the hell out of Jareth until she gave him a hug. The first hug he gave and received from her since they were 13. Awkward as it was, it gave him hope.

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 **This chapter repeated a little bit of the story so far, so I apologize if it was tedious to read. However, I thought it was important to put in because of the Sarah/Jareth dynamics. I really didn't want her to be passive, but to actually question Jareth's actions in the Labyrinth because they were confusing. She was also so young, so there wasn't a good excuse for that. BUT, while her past memories can't resurface on their own, they absolutely can affect her feelings for him. She thinks she's so creative, coming up with the story in the book when it was just memories. :p AND THEY HUGGED YAY.**

 **Thanks again for sticking with me and please R &R!**


	5. Misused

**TRIGGER WARNING: I wasn't sure if this chapter really needed one, but I figured I should put it in anyways. The abuse Sarah receives in her memory gets violent and very manipulative. I totally get how someone who's gone through that may react negatively to it.**

 **Cherish B (Guest): OMG my first review! Thank you so much and I'm glad you're liking it! I couldn't reply to you for some reason. I hope the rest of the story is good as well. I wanted to really show that Sarah was abused, but that she didn't "need" Jareth to be content, and vice Versa. It was important to me that they're going to be together because of love. The abuse is different because it's subtle and something that can take the victim years to figure out, like Sarah had.**

 **I hope that the rest of you guys are enjoying it as well, and please R &R 3**

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13 year old Sarah Williams was all alone, save her father. Ever since her mother, Linda, left them to be an actress, Sarah had problems trusting anyone, and would often retreat to doing things alone. She painted and loved to read. Through her love of reading, she grew to also love writing. Her favorite book was Phantom of the Opera. Oh, how she wanted to be Christine! She often imagined herself singing beautifully, but honestly, she couldn't hold a tune no matter how hard she tried. While many of her classmates loved Erik, she saw through his manipulative demeanor. Sure, he didn't deserve to be abused, but it didn't excuse the fact that he kidnapped Christine. Raoul was a character she could get behind, someone who loved Christine and didn't force her to love him back. It was her love of reading and writing that expanded her imagination and lead her to truly believe that the Goblin King was real.

Robert noticed that his little girl was being more and more distant. He was also very lonely, and found comfort in a beautiful widow, Karen Anderson. Karen's late husband was a powerful politician in New York, and Robert was a lawyer himself. Karen was a housewife, but most people forgot that considering how influential she was in politics. Working long hours, Robert stopped spending one on one time with his daughter, giving Karen attention that she needed. Plus, Sarah has Lisa for a sister now. She didn't need him.

He and Karen also got a surrogate to have a child together, a boy named Toby. Karen would turn a blind eye to all the abuse that happened with Sarah and Toby by Lisa's hand and even participated in making their lives miserable. Lisa was her golden child. Sarah didn't understand how a mother could be so cruel to someone who was her own child.

Lisa was a few months older than Sarah. Her red hair was a seen as mysterious and eye catching. Her plump, red lips and long lashes got her second glances from men of all ages. Sarah didn't mind how her stepsister got attention, but hated that Lisa would use it to hurt her and Toby. She was a crybaby, but was so convincing that even Sarah herself fell for her tricks.

Like the day she stopped Sarah from going to prom.

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Sarah had a date to prom, something she wasn't really expecting, but Jake wanted to go with a friend. She wasn't expecting anything other than a fun dance to come out if it, since Jake was gay.

She made sure to do all her chores, even Lisa's chores before asking Karen if she could go. She couldn't wait to spend time with the few friends she had on a fun night before some of them left to college. Her junior prom! She didn't think anyone would ask her (even a gay friend) because Lisa intimidated almost all of her peers.

Karen was sitting on her couch, probably reading some article about some new fashion trend. "Karen?" "Hmm?" Sarah took more breaths to calm herself down. It wouldn't look good to be scared in front of her stepmother. "A friend asked me to prom, may I go?"

Karen gave her the most exasperated sigh. "Really Sarah. Prom isn't even that fun. I also have a meeting to go that night as well."

Sarah was prepared for her answer. She wasn't even going to bring up the fact that Lisa was going. Karen would probably give some ridiculous excuse like "well she's on prom court" even though prom court hasn't been announced yet. No, better to not bring her up. "Well," said Sarah confidently. "Jake Peterson's parents agreed to care for Toby."

Karen's eyes filled with fire. "Are you trying to make me look bad, Sarah?"

"Oh no Karen, the opposite." She hastily replied. She was ready for this reaction. "Jake asked me, it would look rude to say no. You're busy that night, and Lisa is going. His parents offered to babysit, saying that they wanted to help ease your burden since you're a working mom. Don't worry, I'll make sure that all my chores are done and even help Lisa out with hers." The young human could only hope that she phrased her words in a way that was not accusing.

Karen stared at her stepdaughter thoughtfully. "Alright, but you have to keep ALL of those promises. You cleared your bad school record for a year now and you better not ruin it again." She was referring to the times Sarah got caught screaming and running away when Lisa abused her at school. Except she got caught, not Lisa. As always.

Sarah nodded. YESSSSS. She couldn't wait!

Thrift stores are amazing, Sarah thought excitedly as she found the perfect dress. This new dress was a simple Grecian style, with a strap on one shoulder and the other shoulder was bare. It was a striking green color that matched her eyes. She was also excited to find silver heels to go along with them. It fit her like a glove too!

"Everyone is going to wear those ridiculous satin gowns and puffy sleeves," she mused. A small part of her head reminded her of the dress she wore when she ate the peach during her Run and how she loved that dress. Pushing the image out of her head, she grabbed the lovely green dress from the fitting room and took it home.

The day was here! This was first real night out in, well, ever. She didn't count the times she ran away to the park, since those were the times she had escaped. She decided on some very light make up and to let her hair do an elegant wave down her back. After a few moments of inner turmoil, she decided to wear her mother's pearl necklace. She would always be bitter about Linda, but decided that this was the night to not be petty. "Whatever," the Labyrinth Champion said. "I needed an occasion to wear these anyways and they're pretty."

She walked excitedly downstairs. Robert was down to greet her, a sight she wasn't familiar with. She usually saw her father at the breakfast with his work sprawled all over his side of the table, without time for his daughter.

"My beautiful daughter. I can't believe you're old enough for prom!" He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Now, have fun, but not too much fun." He winked. "Oh, and don't forget to get Toby back when you're done and help your sister with anything she needs. I have to run."

He didn't even give her a second glance when he walked out the door. Sarah was disappointed, to say the least. She didn't get to talk to him much, but even now, during a night he should've been gushing all over her, he had the gall to talk to her about helping Lisa and Toby. Robert was blind when it came to his younger children's abuse.

"Well well, look what we have here." The little hairs on her neck stood up. Sarah didn't even have to turn around to know that Lisa was displeased with her. She was really hoping that Jake would pick her up before she expected Lisa to be ready, but apparently the young man would be late and Lisa had gotten ready early. Daring to look up, Sarah saw her evil stepsister looking like a movie star. She wore a beautiful black gown that hugged every curve the right way. The gown was backless and had a slit go dangerously high. A ruby necklace adorned her heaving breasts and matching earrings graced her ears. They should be fawning over each other and taking fun pictures, not be rivals, Sarah thought.

"Hmm." Lisa walked around Sarah, reminding her of the video in biology class where the lions would stalk its pretty before attack. "Disgusting dress. Your hair couldn't have been worse. And that necklace? Wait." She fingered a bead carefully. "This is real. WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?" She hissed into Sarah's ear.

"My mother's," she hissed back. Sarah was already upset that she would insult her clothes she didn't need Lisa to insult Linda either.

"Huh. A daughter of an actress. I guess she could afford to give you something nice after all. So sad. Your own mother didn't want you." Lisa's hair may have fallen gracefully down her face, but Sarah could see past her charm. Inside was a horrible person who made people's lives miserable, especially Sarah's.

"At least my mother isn't a thief like YOURS," Sarah spat out. Karen had stolen everything that belonged to Linda and kept it for herself and for Lisa. She would NOT let this greedy pig of a stepsister insult her mother when Karen's sins are far worse.

"What did you say, Williams?" Lisa's eyes seemed to glow red, but Sarah held her ground. "You heard what I said. Now cut it out, Anderson." And with that, Sarah headed to the front door to wait for her ride.

But she never got to it.

Before she had even reached the welcome mat, Lisa pushed her down from the side and pinned her down. "If it were up to me, you'd be dead long ago. You just take up space and ALWAYS tarnish my image. Without you and Toby, no one would question my character and Mom's reputation wouldn't be tarnished for having such an insolent child for a stepdaughter. I hate you." She breathed into Sarah's ear. Sarah was terrified, and in her terror, she kicked Lisa off. Instead of running away, Sarah reached out to grab Lisa and pin her down from behind, but somehow, she managed to grab onto the expensive ruby necklace instead, and broke it.

Lisa paused for a moment in horror while Sarah apologized profusely. The slightly older girl went in rage, tearing apart their house before lunging at Sarah.

Sarah sobbed and begged as Lisa continuously kept throwing things at her. Finally, she threw three of Karen's glass vase collection at Sarah, breaking the antiques and cutting the younger girl's skin. By this point, Sarah was shaking violently. Her face was mixed with blood and tears. Her hands were feebly trying to protect her body.

The icing on the cake was when Lisa ripped Sarah's dress. A lovely dress Sarah had tried so hard to find with the little money she had. Now indecent and hurt, Sarah wanted to die. She didn't want to deal with this anymore. She wanted to be loved, to be cherished or at least left alone.

"Get up," Lisa growled. "You're not done yet." She snapped her fingers at Sarah as if she was a dog. When Sarah stood up, Lisa grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the phone, knife at Sarah's neck. "You will tell Jake you can't go, that you broke all of Mom's vases out of anger and are in trouble again. After that, you will tell mom that you broke my necklace during a fight and I will tell her you gave your mother's pearl necklace to me to apologize. You will tell Robert that you cut yourself because you feel ignored, that you don't have money since he gives it to Mom. Oh, and one more thing. You will hand over to me the money he gives you, understood?" She yanked Sarah's hair again, eliciting a whimper from the younger girl. "If you don't, I promise you that I'll kill Toby. And I'll blame you for it."

Sarah fought her tears, too fearful of her stepsister. After all three calls, Lisa forced her to fix help fix her hair and make up before her date came. She was a like a different person in public, all happy and sweet.

Looking at her bloody hands, Sarah made an important decision that day. She wouldn't pick arguments that weren't necessary, and that she would learn to fight back. She didn't need love from anyone else and would stop seeking it. She would do this not for herself, but for Toby.

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 **So, I borrowed some Cinderella moments into this chapter as well (the chores and the ripped dress). I didn't mean to make this background story so long, but I think this sufficiently shows us a glimpse of the abuse that Sarah endured by Lisa's hand. Poor thing. :/ I hope the violence wasn't too much, I can't tell if it was or not since I wrote it but imagining a situation like that happening to anyone is enough to make me cry. But don't you worry, Sarah and Jareth will have cute moments and she will get out of this situation :D**


	6. Friend

"I win!" Technically, Jareth let Toby win, but he was proud at how quickly he understood chess and was mastering at it. _Good strategic skills_ , he mused as the curly-haired boy positioned his knight for attack on his bishop. "You are much better than your sister," he said. In the kitchen, he could hear Sarah grunt in disagreement. "I can hear you!" He smiled inwardly at Sarah's declaration.

Sarah was sick and working on some editorial column for work, even though it was technically her day off. Jareth offered to help her care for Toby, something she was hesitant about since she still wasn't sure whether she wanted to trust him or not. Luckily, he was very considerate about it. "Sarah, I don't want anyone, especially a child, to be abused and taken advantage of. That's why I'm helping you. If you don't feel comfortable with me alone with the young lad, we can stay in the same room so you can supervise us. I want to make sure you're comfortable with everything."

Sarah wasn't sure why she trusted him so easily. It was like she had known him in another life or so. Even so, she didn't let her guard down. She had trusted people who have let her down before.

She stole a glance at Jareth. This is the first time they've seen each other in person since the apology. _Ugh, why did I even hug him?_ She asked herself. It felt more like an impulse, but she couldn't deny that it did feel nice. She hadn't embraced anyone who made her feel safe and secure in years. They had been talking on the phone late at night for a week, each very busy with their work.

The king had told the girl about his time Aboveground when he was a child. It made her dizzy knowing that he was here when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. In turn, she told him about the years of pain she had endured, and how she wouldn't leave because of Toby.

He had been so thoughtful. He even brought her some homemade soup for her cold and some barbecue chicken for Toby. Poor Toby. He couldn't go anywhere since Karen was too strict to let him leave the house. _I guess a goblin king is more fun than nothing_ , she thought, hearing Toby shriek at Jareth declaring a check mate on him.

"Oh, do you play piano, Toby?" Sarah took another glance at Jareth and he and Toby walked towards the piano. "Nah," Toby replied. "Mom bought it for Lisa. But Lisa never used it." Jareth chuckled, a sound that made Sarah feel warm and happy. "That's too bad," he said. "It's a lovely instrument, meant to be played and not be displayed like something in a museum."

Jareth took off the leather gloves and set them down next to him. The King played a few warm up pieces, then played a beautiful tune. Sarah had never seen Toby so quiet and transfixed on anything. He listened intently and looked impressed as Jareth's graceful fingers glided along the black and white keys. As for Jareth himself, he looked so serene and peaceful. The lines of worry disappeared from his face. If he hadn't told her that his magic was gone, Sarah would've thought that he was enchanting her with the music. She could feel innocence and sweetness emanating from the piano into the deepest part of her soul. Like being happy to see the sunrise of a new day.

All three of them sat in silence, soaking in the beautiful music. "Chanson de Matin, by Edward Elgar. It's such a simple but beautiful piece. It's one of my favorites," said Jareth. Toby nodded, then walked away to play with his legos. Jareth looked up into Sarah's eyes.

Something strange happened. Both could feel something between them. A connection? Understanding? Neither was sure as to what it was, but it caused both of them to smile at each other. "So, do you play any other instruments?" Sarah asked. Jareth sighed. "I picked up guitar a bit while I was Above, but haven't played since then. I do miss it." Sarah nodded, feeling sorry for him. She supposed that being king took time away from these pleasures. It really wasn't fair that he was forced to be king and to leave his family at such a young age.

"Hey Jareth, check this out!" Toby ran downstairs, holding a painting in his hand. Sarah gasped in horror. "Sarah painted this! Isn't it amazing?"

It was an owl, a painting that she did during art class while in high school a few years ago. Sarah made it as close to Jareth's likeness as possible, down to the feathery details. Jareth raised an eyebrow. "That's so interesting Toby. Sarah, looks like some special owl caught your eye?" Oh, how he LOVED teasing her!

Sarah's face grew bright red. Toby looked back and forth, confused at their interaction. What was Sarah so shy about?

"You are quite talented. Such detail..." Jareth absentmindedly traced the outline with his finger. After Sarah whispered a quiet "thank you," he dared himself to ask another question. "Are you good at sewing, by chance?"

Sarah was confused. "I've never tried. Why do you ask?" Jareth fumbled around for an answer, but was saved by the front door unlocking.

Just then, a streak of red hair bounced through the hallway. "Oh great," muttered Sarah. Lisa was home early and no doubt she would ruin everything. Maybe even scare Jareth away from Toby.

SLAP! Sarah knew her face was bright red from Lisa striking her. She let out a disgusting cough that resulted from her lungs straining from the shock and her cold. "Sarah, I just a really rough day and I told you I'd be home early! Where is my meal? Why are your things all over the-"

"Ahem."

Both women turned around to see a stone-faced Jareth. Lisa's eyes widened. Who was this man in her home? He was also quite attractive, she thought, licking her lips.

"Who are you?" Lisa asked Jareth, her tone almost a seducing tone. Sarah groaned inwardly. For some reason, her blood began to boil. She told herself that it was because Jareth was her friend and he didn't need a scumbag like Lisa, NOT because she was jealous.

"I'm Jareth," he replied cooly. Sarah was disappointed to see that he relaxed and no longer looked angry. _She just SLAPPED me!_ She thought angrily. _You can't just side with her and FLIRT with her!_

Lisa's hips swayed as she walked to sit next to Jareth. Sarah noticed that a few buttons on the top of her blouse were unbuttoned that weren't before. The Labyrinth Champion gripped her chair so hard that her knuckles were white.

"Pleasure." Lisa squeezed next to Jareth. "So tell me, why are you here?" Their knees were touching at this point and Sarah went from gripping the table to making fists. Half moons were etched in her palms.

"Oh, I've heard so much about you," Jareth crooned, turning to look her. Sarah couldn't believe it. But she still couldn't move or bring herself to look away. Her heart was beating faster and her breathing quickened as she got more upset by the minute. _Men_ , she thought to herself. _Dad had been like that with Karen too. They're all the same. Why did I expect Jareth to be any different?_

Lisa winked at he handsome man by her side."Really? Like what?" Their lips were now dangerously close. Jareth held something up next to their faces. "Oh? What's that?" Lisa said distractedly.

Sarah had never seen anyone's facial expressions change as fast as Jareth's did that day, and probably never will. He went from flirtatious to rage in a split second. "This! This is a film of YOU slapping Sarah!" Lisa backed away, but failed as Jareth leaned in forward. Sarah didn't know how she didn't see the camera next to him before. He must've caught everything without anyone noticing. "You see, Sarah and Toby are very precious to me. If you DARE lay another hand on either of them, I will hear about it. I have powerful friends, more powerful ones than what your mom has, believe me. I will develop these photos for all to see! If you don't want to end up in jail, you will leave them alone."

Lisa's face turned sheet white. Nodding, she got up and out of the house quicker than you could say "Goblin."

Sarah stared at the front door, trying to understand what just happened. She faced Jareth, who was still lounging on the couch as if nothing had happened. It took her a few moments to notice that Jareth was reading the draft of her advice column. "Really Sarah," he said with a disappointing tone. "An advice column for a woman who's torn between her husband and her lover? She obviously shouldn't be with either of them and the husband should find someone better than her. Aren't there better questions out there?"

"Erm," she stared. "That's drama. People will want to read more." He scoffed. "Oh, of course. Humans." He tossed the papers back onto the table. Sarah shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Jareth, I appreciate what you did for me, but she's going to make my life worse. I-" he held a hand to cut her off. "Sarah, though I may only be 26 years of age in my age and maturity, I have been king for years. I've had men and women act this way towards me to try to gain favor. Yes," he responded to her open mouth, "Men can be attracted to other men as you well know. Anyways, people like your stepsister are full of themselves but become scared when it comes to anyone threatening them. I know I don't have magic, but she will not hurt you anymore or tell Karen about it. She'll be too busy looking over her shoulder."

He fiddled with a pen for a few moments before looking at Sarah again. Her eyes were filled with tears that were slowly falling on her lap.

"Sarah?" He walked towards her, worried. She coughed, still sick. The excitement hadn't helped her at all in healing. "Jareth, I've never had anyone stand up for me before. Thank you." He smiled, and held one of her hands in both of his, like he did when they were 13. "Anything for you, Precious."

* * *

 **Two chapters tonight! Woo! I felt the muses today and am surprisingly motivated. Hopefully tomorrow we will have a chapter about a date, but we'll see!**

 **I really hoped that Jareth came across as respectful and considerate, yet he can be annoying at the same time. It was important to me that he didn't necessarily save Sarah (she's a strong woman, after all), but that he stand up for her. But, I can't tell if you guys don't let me know (hint hint). :P**

 **Also I just had to make him play Chanson de Matin. I know not all of you are musicians or love classical music, but I promise that you'll recognize the tune and know what I mean when I say it's sweet and simple. It's also special to me since I played a clarinet solo for this in high school and it was one of my best solo performances.**

 **Next chapter will have more Sarah and Jareth fluff. I think you're all going to really like what I have in store! Please please please R &R. Only one person has done it so far and I really want to know if you guys think this story is worth reading. Thanks again for reading guys!**


	7. Slowly but Surely

It was about 4 months since Jareth lost his powers and came to the Above. He still hated his job as a barista. "Kicking goblins is so much more fun than this," he grumbled as some customer asked for a ridiculous order with too many changes. He hoped his kingdom was alright. He had no way of knowing what was going on, and as annoying as his subjects can be, his heart twisted at the idea of them being taken over by the jiangshi. They meant so much to him, and he'd die for each and everyone of them, even that Hoghead. Not that he'd ever tell them that, of course.

Speaking of heart twisting, he was trying to think of a way to ask Sarah out on a date. Oh why did it have to be so difficult? He could reorder time, fight vampire-zombies but not ask a girl on a date? Now that he was sure that the two Williams children would not be harmed, he had to stop putting off thinking about what the Southern Guardian said about making some big sacrifice and getting Sarah to love him.

In the time that they had spent, Sarah had made him a less bitter person and opened up his heart and feelings. He was better at expressing them instead of just bottling them up and shoving them aside. In turn, she was better at controlling her own feelings, being able to put them off until she was able to express them in a safe situation.

He wanted Sarah to love him, that was for sure, even without that "advice" he was given. He guess he did have the Southern Guardian to thank for bringing Sarah back into his life because he'd never do it on his own. Every woman was special, but Sarah was special to him. She was his friend for so long and had truly cared about him. He lamented that her memory of the Underground was completely forgotten. Unfortunately, she had some terrible trials in her life that made her react rashly and childishly. He recognized her strange coping mechanisms (like keeping Lancelot) as a result of the neglect and violence she experienced. It made her vulnerable, but he was proud that she wasn't broken. He regretted again that he had not looked out for her from time to time when he found out that she moved Above for he had assumed that she forgot about him or hated him.

He knew that she now trusted him. It had taken awhile, but some patience and understanding won her over. Jareth also wanted Sarah to feel safe to say yes or no to the date, to have only her feelings for him decide what she wanted.

But alas, it had taken him a long time to let her go the first time. Would she give him a chance? Would she try to love him? What would happen to his heart if she rejected him again? The Goblin King didn't want to think about that part. _I'll cross that bridge if I get there_ , he thought.

* * *

Sarah was ecstatic. Jareth was coming over, and she had a surprise present for him. Earlier that week, she went to a nearby pawn shop and found a guitar in pretty good condition. A coworker assisted in buying new strings and another helped her in tuning it. She also added another surprise, and hoped that Jareth would like it. _As a thank you gift for taking care of Toby_ , she reasoned firmly. It had nothing to do with how she felt for him.

Her heart was beating faster, thinking about Jareth. She forced herself to admit that she had feelings for him (it was important to acknowledge your feelings to heal, she had learned). But, Sarah still didn't want to rush or risk anything. She was comfortable here and now. The disappointment and abuse she had dealt with made her question everyone's motives. Only Toby managed to keep the walls around her heart from fully forming. But now, it seems like Jareth is tearing some of it down. _No_ , she shook her head. Jareth wouldn't have feelings for her. He was just being nice and helping with the Toby situation. He made it clear that his time Above and as king made him really compassionate to the sufferings of young children even though he was awful when it came to expressing himself since he was used to being stoic.

She heard a knock on the front door, but before she could even get up, Toby zoomed through the halls and let the King in.

"Hi Jareth!" He said excitedly. Sarah hid, watching the exchange between the two of them. Jareth bent down to give the 6-year-old a hug, a large and genuine smile on his face. "How are you, young man?" He ruffled Toby's hair.

"I want you to come with me! I made a really cool spaceship out of some legos. It can shoot fire at enemies, catch bad space guys, and has a jacuzzi!" Toby's smile was infectious and Jareth gave him another hair ruffle. "I can't wait to see it!" Sarah's heart warmed at the sight. Jareth really was good with kids.

As the pair walked upstairs, Sarah caught a better glimpse of Jareth. Normally he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt to fit in, but today, he was in a more comfortable and professional attire (at least for him). His simple white button down shirt was tucked into his dark slacks. She wondered if there was a special occasion for this.

"Toby, I would like to play chess today, but may I speak with your sister? Yes I mean Sarah, not the other one. Just a few minutes alone. Just two adults if you'd please." Toby huffed, clearly annoyed that his sister was taking Jareth's attention but nevertheless, he let Jareth go downstairs.

Even though Sarah was dressed normally, Jareth felt that she looked more beautiful than ever. She had on a loose, red blouse and jeans. She traded her less frantic and stressed demeanor for a more carefree and happy look. This was the Sarah that Jareth had always seen, and was waiting to emerge.

He smiled, and walked towards her. "Hello, Goblin king," she smiled. Jareth tipped his imaginary hat to her. "And to you too, my lady. How are you, this fine day?" "Quite well. I know you want to talk to me, but I have something for you first." Her smile was so big and her eyes shone so brightly that Jareth obliged, even though he knew the longer he waited, the chances of him asking her on a date would be slimmer.

Sarah was holding a case that had something inside. Hiding it behind her back, she shyly said "so, I remembered a few months ago when you said that you wished you had a guitar. You know I don't have that much money, so I wasn't able to afford anything that fancy but I hope you'll like it." She feebly handed the guitar into Jareth's arms.

Jareth looked up, speechless. She thought he would care that she didn't get him the fanciest guitar? Oh, she really was precious. He opened the case, and found a beautiful, classic guitar. Upon closer inspection, he saw that an owl was painted on it. The details were so fine, and on its right wing bore the name "Jareth."

"Thank you Sarah," he whispered. Inspiration popped into the king's head, and he asked "Sarah, might I play a song for you? It's from the Underground." She nodded, beaming at how much he loved and appreciated her present.

Jareth opened his mouth to sing words in a language that she did not understand. His deep voice flowed all around her, almost lifting her up. It was sweet, almost like a lullaby but not quite. It made her think of being safe and secure, like everything would be alright.

 _"Tonight the cold wind blew as_

 _I look at the long sky._

 _Bedroom window open, the moonlight_

 _lit up like a shining star._

 _Before I fall asleep this night, I'll meet you._

 _I'll meet you on the dazzling sky._

 _Let the night envelope my tender heart._

 _I do not know if she can see the same star with me, like the day we met._

 _Late at night, the grass covered dew sprinkled like tiny jewels,_

 _Glimmering to reflect the moonlight._

 _I want to stop the moving star so you can see too,_

 _and keep the cold air away so you can be warm._

 _I want time to stop, so this night can go on forever. I want you to stay near my heart_

 _for all time."_

Sarah blushed after Jareth told her the rough translation. "Sarah," he whispered. "Please look at me." She shyly looked up at him, a single red rose in his hand. "These past few months, we've become friends. And, I'd like it to be more. I know it's not easy for you," he added when he saw her looking scared. "And I don't want you to be forced to do anything. I'd just like some one on one time with you. You don't have to answer now if you don't want, and you can say no at any time. But, the truth is, I care about you more than you know. It would mean a lot to me if you would give me this honor."

It felt like hours before Sarah finally smiled and reached for the rose. "Offer accepted, goblin king." Both breathed out a sigh of relief. "It's a date. But you better have something fun planned," she teased. Jareth nodded, too happy to speak.

"Hey!" Yelled Toby. Jareth and Sarah looked up to see him fuming. "You guys are taking forever and I wanna play chess!"

* * *

"Which one Toby? Yellow or blue?" Sarah was trying to pick an outfit for her date with Jareth. The yellow dress was a sundress, with a few flowers splashing around it. With this dress, she'd wear some light make up and accessorize with some golden bracelets, a tan cardigan, and a small handbag. The dark blue dress was completely different. It had thin straps to hold it up, and while it was an appropriate knee length dress, the slit on the side made it a little daring. She planned to wear some smokey eye make up, and a small ring on her finger that Linda had given to her so long ago to complete the look. Since it was spring, she planned to have a wrap with her in case the evening got cold.

So really, her question was, did she want to come across as open, fun, and innocent? Or did she want to come across as mysterious, flirty, and assertive?

Toby made an exasperated sound. "Does this have to be a big deal? Come on Sar, just go eeny-meeny-minie-mo." He went back to looked at the comic books he'd check out from the library. The young boy was obviously not pleased that Jareth was going with Sarah instead of their usual play date together.

"Oh come on Toby, I want to pick a good look. It's my first real date..." she said. She had "hung out" with 3 boys in high school (Sarah was pretty, and even Lisa couldn't deter all of them from approaching her). She'd even kissed a couple of them, but it never lasted more than two dates. The 21-year-old was especially nervous to go on a date with any man, let alone a KING.

"Sarah," Toby's tone of voice changed to be softer and more understanding. "You're thinking too much. Jareth would think you're pretty in a potato sack." Sarah's eyes widened at the thought. "Why do you think that?" She asked. "Psh, he wanted to date you. He gave you a flower. He sang you a song. I wouldn't do that for anyone, so I'd only do that for someone I liked."

Sarah instantly felt more confident. "I'll go with blue then. It's a nicer color anyways," she reasoned. Toby didn't even look up when he said "good idea. Blue is Jareth's favorite color anyway." Sarah groaned. "You really couldn't tell me this earlier?" He shrugged. _Boys_ , she thought as she rolled her eyes.

Jareth greeted her with a pink rose and a hug. Sarah could feel the heat radiating off his chest, and reluctantly let him go. Standing back, she noticed that he slicked his hair back and wore that same trench coat that she saw those months ago. "Hello, Jareth," she smiled. Jareth held her at arm's length. "You look beautiful, Sarah. You really are breathtaking." The last word came out sweetly, so full of adoration that Sarah didn't know how to respond.

"I have a present for you," Jareth said. "Turn around," he whispered. Sarah gave him a look, to which he responded "Come now Sarah, it's not a trick, don't you worry."

She turned around and closed her eyes. She felt something cold touch her neck. _A necklace,_ she thought to herself. She felt his warm hands, now without gloves (she was going to have to ask him about that), lingering on the back of her neck longer than he needed to. She felt his hands go from her neck to her eyes. He slowly led her to the mirror in the living room.

"Open," he whispered. Sarah gasped, touching the beautiful jewelry. In the middle was a small owl. Jareth smiled. "So you can remember me always, Precious." Her face turned a bright shade of pink. _So much for trying to be mysterious,_ she thought. She knew Jareth was enjoying her reaction, and if she was honest, she loved that he was happy to see her smile.

After dropping Toby off at his coworker's home (Karen would have a fit if Toby was left alone), Jareth took Sarah to have some sushi, her favorite food. The best part was probably seeing Jareth struggle with the chopsticks. He gave up and used a fork instead.

"So, Jareth, why do you wear gloves?" Sarah asked curiously. Jareth wiped the wasabi off his mouth (he didn't think it would be THAT spicy). "Well," he started. "When I was 13, like all Underground children, we learned what was my medium for magic. You see, we can all do magic in most forms, like telekinesis or teleporting. As for me, I do my best magic with crystals. But, it was hard to hold them, so I often would use gloves."

"And do you just wear them out of habit?" Sarah asked. "Yes," Jareth replied, leaning backwards comfortably. "It's sort of like a barrier, so no one will notice how shaky I am and I wouldn't make the crystals slip. They're also made by someone special," he added as an afterthought.

"Oh? Who? A girl?" Jareth could detect a hint of jealousy in her voice. He knew that she would feel hurt inside and decided to partially lie. "Oh no," he said quickly. "An old lady I knew in my village made them have some powers like to be clean when I'd pinch the thumbs. They still work. Here." He spilled some water on them, and squeezed the thumbs. Sarah watched, fascinated as the water disappeared.

Jareth nodded, thinking about the irony of the situation. _Oh, if only you remembered that you were the one that did this for me,_ he thought sadly. On the bright side, Sarah was willing to retry their romance, even though she had forgotten their childhood puppy love. "I have been on dates with other women," he informed her. Sarah tried to look like she didn't care, but Jareth could see how obvious it was. "Mostly because I was pressured to marry, to make the kingdom stronger." He explained to Sarah that two monarchs made the kingdom whole and each monarch would be stronger as well. "But, none of the women wanted a real relationship with me. Your emotions affect your powers, and I knew that I wouldn't be to my full potential without a wife I could love." He thought back to how he became much weaker after Sarah's rejection. He was desperate, and it wanted so badly for her to accept that all logic went out of his head when he offered her dreams, forgetting how young she was and didn't realize that she had forgotten him. It broke his heart, and it took so long for him to fix the damage that she had caused.

Sarah was intrigued. "I don't mean to pry, but did it ever get anywhere with any of the women?" Jareth scoffed. "No, a few kisses but no real spark. Nothing. They wanted power and that was it. I've never known a woman either," he admitted. He wasn't sure if Sarah had done anything either, given her home-grown bully, Lisa. But if he hadn't met Lisa, he'd assume that she had. Who wouldn't want any that I take a chance be with someone like Sarah? He looked at her again. She was so beautiful, and wearing a dress that was still modest but quite tempting at the same time and his favorite color. He wondered if she subconsciously remembered his favorite color or if it was a coincidence.

"Nothing wrong with that," she said. "People often feel the need to rush or to experience, but there's no need. On the flip side, so long as everyone is honest and it's not forced, nothing wrong with it. But I haven't done it either," she said. "Kisses, but that was lame. Nothing bad happened, it was just awkward and felt we wrong. I was a teenager then." She made a pouty face at the thought of the memory. Jareth was pleased to know that she was somewhat experienced and didn't seem to be bullied by the boys. A little experience would make her more comfortable than without.

After dinner, the pair went to a park to watch a drive-in movie. Back to the Future, it was called. Jareth hadn't seen it, and neither had Sarah, so they figured, why the hell not?

Both of them had so much fun. Sarah bought them some popcorn and they made jokes and laughed throughout the movie. Sarah joked about how she found Michael J. Fox attractive, while Jareth pretended to ogle over Claudia Wells. Somehow, they had gotten into a very comfortable position. A blanket was wrapped around them, their fingers intertwined. Sarah got less and less shy with being around Jareth, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Sometimes, he'd put his hand on her thigh where her slit opened to show her upper leg. Still innocent, but it was definitely borderline.

"Ugh, the scene where his mom kisses him! Ewww." Sarah stuck her tongue out. "Agreed," said Jareth. "You have to admit that the Peeping Tom thing was gross too." "Oh no kidding!"

They analyzed about the movie until all the other people left. Neither wanted to end the date, and stared contently at the stars. "I wonder," Sarah mused. "What, my dear?" Jareth eyed his beautiful date. Sarah loved his little nicknames for her. She squeezed his hand a little tighter. "I wonder if there's anyone out there and how big the universe is. I wish I could go exploring it sometimes."

Jareth watched his date look up at the night sky longingly. "I do too," he said. "It's beautiful. But Sarah, there are beings out there." She sat up straight. "WHAT?" "Yes, more powerful beings. But we don't know very much. Sometimes they visit, but humans often call them gods. Better to not have them come here, but I would like to know more."

 _Well thanks for that information bomb,_ she thought. She wanted to ask more, but Jareth said "Sarah, I'd like to redo something between us. To create a new memory."

She didn't understand. "We just ate sushi and watched a movie and talked about aliens. What do you mean?" She saw him twiddle his thumbs nervously. "Um, well, just get out of the car for a moment." "Whyyyyy?" She complained. "It's nice and warm in here." Jareth looked defeated and disappointed, so Sarah said "okay, but it better be good."

Sarah didn't notice that Jareth was putting a CD to play some music. A beautiful violin piece played. "Salut D'Amor," said Jareth. "Edward Elgar composed this for his bride to be." He made a deep bow and held his hand out. "A dance, Sarah-mine?"

Sarah took his hand, and curtseyed and her date bowed. Jareth placed her left hand on his shoulder, his right hand on her waist, and clasped their free hands together. This dance was different from the ballroom scene during her Run. One, neither of them were wearing anything near as fancy. Two, no one else was around to distract them. Three, Sarah didn't have to chase after Toby or worry about time constraints. Sarah concentrated on Jareth's handsome face, and she could feel her heart growing at the sight of his kind, mismatched eyes looking down at her.

Jareth moved their clasped hands to rest near his heart. He flattened Sarah's hand out, and she could feel his heartbeat. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his chest, listening to him breathe. "What are you doing, darling?" He was elated, and could feel goosebumps growing along his body. This dark-haired beauty was precious indeed and he promised to never take her for granted. Even if they didn't last, he'd always look fondly on their childhood and their date tonight.

"Listening to your heartbeat," she mumbled. Jareth buried his lips in her hair. "And it's beating for you, dearest. Nothing is more important or gets it to fight as much as you..."

This time, Sarah didn't freeze in shock at Jareth's declaration like she did when he first told her he cared about her. And while she wasn't quite ready to love him yet, she was sure that she'd be there sooner than later. Jareth wasn't just breaking down the walls of her heart, he was melting them like ice on a hot summer day.

The music slowed to a stop. Jareth held Sarah's face in his hands. He rubbed her beautiful face wth his thumbs and she stroked his hands. "You are the most precious thing, Sarah..." they closed their eyes, as their lips touched.

Both of them would never have imagined that a kiss could feel so good. Jareth's hands moved from Sarah's face to her back, one on her shoulder blade and the other on her lower back. Sarah's hand went to his shirt, and she even dared to slip in a few fingers in between his buttoned shirt to feel his skin. They poured so much emotion into it. All the tension, all the feelings. Sarah's insecurities poured in and Jareth's worries also made way into the kiss. But the biggest emotion was desire. Their lips had so many nerves that were sending powerful jolts of electricity back to Sarah's brain.

It wasn't long before tongues were added in, exploring each crevice slowly and lovingly. Jareth broke away to kiss her neck. Sarah hesitated, but let him do so at first, her instincts begged to feel his searing kisses on her body. Jareth stopped after he was satisfied with those neck kisses, not wanting to go too far tonight in order to respect Sarah's need to be slow. It was for him too. He didn't want to do anything quickly either, seeing as he just got her back. Jareth waited for so long to kiss her. He pulled her back, seeing that the lipstick was all messed up. Sarah smiled sheepishly, and Jareth gave her a kiss on the forehead and Sarah gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

They didn't need to use words to tell each other how amazing the kisses were. They didn't need to say that they had feelings for each other, they already knew. The young couple fell asleep on the back of the truck comfortably until the sun peaked next morning.

* * *

 **YAYYYYY THEY KISSED. I just want you guys to know, this isn't over yet! There's still so many more problems before they're 100% okay, but they'll get there. The song that Jareht' sings and plays I used is a Thai love song, and one of my favorites. I tried to translate it but it was hard so I hope it wasn't too choppy. Thanks for reading everyone and enjoy the ride!**


	8. Runaway

**Some of you guys may have noticed that I changed some chapter names. It's not a big deal, I just am so bad at figuring out titles! I may even change the title of this one, but I'm not so sure yet. I also edited past chapters to have proper line breaks (I'm so glad I figured that out holy cow). Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Sarah and Jareth woke up from their blissful date in a state of panic. Neither had expected to doze off, but did. Sarah was so anxious that she was sobbing in truck as Jareth drove. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite thinking right either and drove to Sarah's home instead of his coworker's where he had left Toby. Karen was standing waiting for them.

He was about to turn around, but Sarah told him to let her out. "Sarah? Are you sure?" He eyed the scary woman. Sarah nodded. "It will make things worse if you're there or if I leave. She won't hurt me. Please just let me go. Plus, I want to calm her down before Toby gets home." She gave Jareth a small peck on the cheek. "See you when you're back." Jareth held her hand for a moment before she got out to face Karen.

"What the hell have you been up to? You told me you'd be home at 9 at the latest, and then you're gone all night long. And then you stand here looking like a prostitute with that messy hair and your lipstick all over your face!" Karen screamed at her stepdaughter like a banshee.

"Karen, I'm so sorry. It was my fault and I lost track-" Karen held a hand out to her face. "Don't speak until I'm done." Sarah stood quietly, knowing that she was in for one of Karen's hour long lectures and probably would not have a chance to speak at all.

"We had a strict rule about Toby. What do you do? Dress like a whore and spend the night with that, that indecent man! I don't want to know what you two have been up to. No do not speak!" Sarah had tried to correct her about what she and Jareth really did.

"Look at you! I give you a night off and this is how you repay me?" _Yeah, a night off_ _since PROM,_ Sarah told herself. Karen continued. "Do you think it's fun for me to go to these events? I do this for you! I let you live in my house without paying rent and this is the thanks I get. I can't believe you."

The Labyrinth Champion held on to the owl necklace Jareth had given her the day before. After meeting him, she became more sure and more confident. It was harder for her to be submissive now that she understood her worth. Holding that necklace helped her remind herself that this isn't over, that she did deserve happiness.

* * *

"Carl will you just please calm down?" Jareth was upset at his coworker, to say the least. He thought John was a trustworthy fellow and liked children. Apparently he went out last night, drunk, and left a sleeping Toby with Carl, another coworker who had, er, certain issues in the head to say the least.

He was lucky he came while Toby was still not quite awake. Jareth's stomach turned at the idea of him interacting with this nut job. At the current moment, he was trying to escape with Toby from Carl's drunk madness. The boy didn't need to see this.

"No!" The drunk yelled. "I will NOT calm down! It's your fault that John couldn't have fun with his new girl at the new bar so he had to call me in and make sure the kid didn't escape!" Jareth rolled his eyes. "I made a mistake but it had nothing to do with you! I didn't ask you to care for him! Your beef is with John!" He was going to give John a mouthful tomorrow. Why couldn't he just have one nice date wth Sarah without someone yelling at them? Carl snarled at the king, and grabbed a knife and started chopping some potatoes for some breakfast maybe? Who knows.

Toby came from the room he was sleeping in, displeased at Jareth for picking him up so early in the morning. The child moved quite slowly, and Jareth wanted to just pick him up and sprint him away from his unstable coworker as soon as possible.

"Why are you leaving? Come back here!" Carl lunged at Jareth, knife in his hand. He may not have magic, but it didn't mean Jareth wasn't quick and agile. The Goblin King swooped under Carl's arm and grabbed the knife. He nearly landed on young Toby, knife a few inches from the boy's face.

"Let's go," he told Toby. The petrified boy nodded and ran to the truck. Jareth drove as fast as he could of there with Carl stumbling behind, still very drunk.

"I'm so sorry, Toby." He apologized, sincerely feeling horrible. Toby nodded. "thanks for saying sorry, Jareth. Can we get ice cream today?" Jareth breathed a sigh of relief. "Of course." He had taught Toby to never say "it's okay" to someone who hurt him since it meant that they could do it again. He was also glad that the boy accepted his apology.

Sadly, the King would not keep his promise to get ice cream for Toby.

While driving straight on, a car came from the right, and instead of stopping at the stop sign, it crashed straight into Toby's side of the car. Jareth tried to swerve away as quickly as he could. His body was thrown to the side from the impact, and he had a concussion.

After regaining his senses, he took a shuddering breath at the sight next to him. "No. Nonononono NO!" Toby's body was mangled, his blood spilt everywhere. Jareth knew instantly that he was gone.

The driver had run away after the hit. Jareth cried. He swore. He held Toby's hand and couldn't believe what had happened. One moment, he promised Toby that he would be getting him ice cream. The next moment, he lay lifeless. "Sarah," he whispered. She had spent her whole life suffering, and sacrificed so much for this child. If he, Jareth, loved Toby this much, how much more could Sarah take of this pain?

He blamed himself. He wanted to die. He deserved to die. But, he had to make sure Sarah would be okay. He held on, staying awake for her.

* * *

Karen had left to find Toby herself after Jareth was taking a long time. She had a worried look when she came home, and Sarah's worst fears came true.

She sat numbly at the hospital as Jareth was taken care of, the parents and Lisa were with Toby's body. Toby was gone. How could it happen? How could an innocent little boy die?

She saw Jareth walk out towards her. Immediately, she threw his arms around him. Jareth was surprised that she wasn't yelling at him or blaming him for what had transpired. He almost wished she did. He deserved it.

"It's my fault," Sarah cried. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep and I should've gone with you to get him. I would've been on the front seat and he would've been-" "Shh." Jareth held her head against his chest. "If there's anyone to blame, it's me." Sarah looked up into Jareth's tear-soaked face. "I was the driver," he explained. "I just, you can't blame yourself. Oh Sarah. I loved him too. And I can't imagine how you must feel."

They cried in each other's arms. Sarah stroked his face. "Jareth, please don't blame yourself either. I'm glad you're okay. I really am." She kissed his cheek and Jareth laid his head on top of hers.

Robert walked toward the couple with a frown on his face. Jareth drew Sarah closer to his body. He never liked the man very much. Nothing was ever good enough for him. Even as a child, Jareth remembered that Robert didn't like it when he and Sarah played together because he didn't have a high enough status or some other odd reason to be friends with his little girl. He remembered Sarah's mother, always wanting something more and while it was good to achieve one's dreams, it was selfish of Linda to abandon Robert and Sarah after they immigrated Above. He liked Robert even less after finding out that he didn't stop the abuse Sarah and Toby had endured. He understood that Sarah has a soft spot for her father, so he didn't bring up his feelings towards him. Quite strange that the man didn't seem to remember the Underground either, Jareth noted.

"Ahem." Robert cleared his throat. "I'd like to speak to my daughter. Alone." He added when Jareth wouldn't leave. The King sighed and gave Sarah a small kiss in her hair before giving them space.

"Sarah, please listen to me. Jareth is a dangerous man." Sarah scrunched her eyebrows. "Oh Dad, I know you're overprotective of me but please. I'm an adult now. Plus this is not the time for it." Sarah reached out to flick some lint off her father's shoulder. Robert's stern demeanor didn't fade. "Sarah, Jareth killed Toby." Sarah looked at Jareth then looked back at her father. "Dad? What in the world are you talking about?"

He sighed. "Karen told me where Toby was staying, so I went to get him since you two were somewhere else," he said disapprovingly. Sarah held her ground and didn't blush. Robert sighed again. "I went to the house, and I saw Jareth inside. I decided to take a look and he had a knife poised to hurt Toby. Here." He showed Sarah a photo. Sarah gasped. Jareth looked angry and a knife was poised at a terrified Toby. "But," she started to ask, "why the car crash?" Robert shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe Jareth changed his mind about killing him and a freak accident conveniently happened instead. Sarah, he is using you! Look at him giving you comfort and drawing you away from me. He's sick in the head and he wants to take you away. There's no rhyme or reason to this. Please leave him and we can move somewhere far away."

Sarah didn't want to think about it. She felt that Jareth was innocent, but maybe her father was right, it could just be feelings. Could there be a real explanation for the photo? Her heart broke all over again seeing the last picture of Toby. He looked so scared.

"I really don't appreciate you slandering me behind my back, Mr. Williams." Both father and daughter jumped. Jareth looked more frightening, like the intimidating king Sarah had seen during her Run. His arms crossed and his mismatched eyes were wide with anger.

"Oh yeah? Then explain this photo!" Jareth snatched the photo from Robert's hand. "This was not me fighting Toby. The coworker I had left him with was irresponsible, and that I take responsibility for. His friend cared for Toby during the night and was drunk by morning and tried to fight me with a knife. The picture was me getting the knife away. Toby was completely unscathed." He threw the picture back at Robert's face. "Now tell me, why were you even there? Why didn't you help me retrieve your son? Where were you at the car crash? You said you worried for him and then you just left me with him? What is wrong with you?!" Jareth spat. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that Robert was lying to her Sarah away from him.

"Oh don't you DARE use that tone on me! You should've told Sarah that whole detail!" Robert positioned himself into a fighting stance, pushing his daughter away. Jareth still couldn't believe the nerve of this man. "We had a more pressing situation at hand!" countered Jareth, gesturing towards the room where Toby's body was being prepared. "You think my crazy coworker story is that important?"

Robert angrily shoved Jareth. He really underestimated Jareth's strength and to protect himself, Jareth grabbed Robert by the collar and pushed him against the wall. "Nooo!" Both turned to see Sarah.

She had had enough. She didn't know what to do, or who to trust. All she knew was that her head and heart hurt. Sprinting away, she knocked chairs over to make sure that Jareth and her father would trip trying to get her. She couldn't be in this atmosphere anymore. She had to go away, far away.

Sarah heard her name being called, but didn't stop. She got in the car, drove home like a mad woman, and bolted out of there after getting a few of her belongings.

She reached the airport. She didn't even hesitate to choose where to go; Los Angeles, California, home of Hollywood, musicians, actors, and writers. She always wanted to go, but stayed behind for Toby. "This is for you, Toby. I'm finally reaching for my dreams."

* * *

 **I got so sad writing this chapter. :( But, it is important to the story. Don't worry, it will get better. Thanks again for reading if you've made it this far, and please leave a review!**


	9. Love Without Your Heartbeat

After fighting off Robert's violent antics, the Goblin King went directly to the William's abode. He knew where they kept their spare key, under a flower pot just in case someone was locked out. He never used it, but Toby once let him on that secret.

Jareth was heartbroken. He couldn't help it, he got defensive when someone harmed him and now Sarah was scared. Normally, he'd let her cool off but in this state of grief, she might be a danger to herself since her mind wasn't all there. He felt responsible for everything, and would at least make sure she was alright.

On her bed, he found a note saying that she was in the airport and flying far away, without a destination. Jareth threw himself down in frustration. He walked around the room for more clues, but nothing. If only he had his magic then he could trace his beloved.

Just when he was about to give up, he heard the phone ring. When he didn't answer, the answering machine took it up. "Hi Sarah, it's Jackie. I'm so sorry I didn't call back sooner. Yeah of course you can stay with me. Please don't make any rash decisions, I know losing Toby was hard. I'll pic you up at LAX when you land. Please be safe."

LAX. Jareth didn't know where it was, but he could find it at the airport he bet. He heard some commotion downstairs, so he did the logical thing and got out of Sarah's window before the Williams parents and Lisa found him. Before he left, he made sure to grab Lancelot.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Sarah came to LA, and she was still broken and hurt. So much for that Dream she was going to achieve. She felt bad for Jackie. Her friend was so gracious and she didn't know how to repay her. They had been friends before Robert and Karen married, but Jackie's family moved to LA.

"Hey Sarah. Please, have some tea." Jackie's a musician, playing in bands and singing in bars hoping to get a contract to something more. She of all people knew how hard it was to achieve their dreams in LA.

Sarah nodded, thanking her friend. She kept thinking about Jareth. Her feelings for him were still the same, but she didn't want to be with him at the moment. Not after all of this. Jackie sensed that her friend was thinking, and asked her what was wrong.

Before Sarah could answer, someone knocked on their door. Jackie sighed. "I said no solicitors," she grumbled.

"Hello, are you Jackie Spencer?" Sarah froze at the sound of that voice. How did Jareth find her? She then heard him ask for Sarah Williams after he confirmed Jackie's identity.

Jackie looked uncertain. "It's okay, Jackie. I'll handle it alone." Sarah was appreciative that her friend wouldn't just let someone she didn't know barge in to speak to Sarah. Jackie nodded, letting her through.

Seeing Jareth's face made all the memories come back. Sarah was torn. She wanted to him to hold her, but she also wanted to run far away from him as she could. The once mighty Goblin King looked so forlorn and broken. It pained her to see him like this.

"Sarah, I'm sorry about my actions towards your father that night. I know it wasn't appropriate, and it was thoughtless." He chose his next words very carefully, wanting to clear his name but without implicating Robert. "I don't want you to choose between me and your father, so I won't tell you my version of the story. I didn't tell him I heard Jackie's message and knew you were in LA just in case you didn't want to see him."

Sarah nodded. Jareth was being quite considerate as usual, but she didn't want to trust him again. She was too scared to. The walls of her heart came up just as quickly as they went down. "So, why are you here?" She wanted him to get to the point.

"To make sure you're alright. I'll even call your parents for you-" "No." Sarah wanted nothing to do with either of her parents for now. Maybe never. She was still healing. Jareth nodded. "Well I know you're with a friend, but I am nearby if you want to meet up," he said hopefully. Sarah almost said yes, but she couldn't. She just couldn't.

"Jareth, I can't. I gave you my trust, and I just, I can't. It's too much. I think we should end this. I don't hate you or anything. I just can't." She resisted the urge to cry. Jareth nodded, understanding her situation. "In that case, I'll let you go. But before I leave, I have a few things for you."

He pulled out a teddy bear and a necklace. "Jareth please, I won't accept these." Jareth sighed. "Sarah, I am not trying to win you back. I understand, I won't bother you again. That's Lancelot, and that necklace has a lock of Toby's hair in it. It's tradition in the Underground to get a lock of the deceased's hair into a necklace." He waited a moment as Sarah hugged her bear and lovingly held on to the necklace. "I'll leave you alone. I won't contact you unless you want to. Take care, Sarah."

Sarah watched him walk away, relieved. At the same time, it felt like the world had ended. Isn't this what she wanted? So what was wrong?

Jackie walked in. "Sarah, I know you're not sure of everything and all, but you're insane." Sarah didn't really want to hear lectures and started walking away. "No, listen to me. That man LOVES you. He came to LA so he could check on you? He didn't even pressure you to do anything. He started living comfortably in New York and now he's here. For you." Sarah had told Jackie about Jareth, but now she regretted telling her friend. "He doesn't love me..."

"Yes he does. This is what you do when you love someone!" Little did they know that Jareth would soon have the same conversation with someone else.

* * *

Jareth was sweeping the floor of a diner. His new job was even worse than the last one, but at least he had a job. At least with cleaning, he didn't have to speak with anyone. He wasn't ready to have small talk.

Two of his coworkers were having a conversation nearby. Jareth was bored, so he listened in the conversation that he guessed would be entertaining.

"Dude she's dating a new guy. I messed up man. I love her so much."

"Joe that sucks. so what are you gonna do?"

"Get her back. Duh. Maybe I'll go stalk them on their date!"

"Groovy."

Jareth had had enough. "If you loved her, you'd leave her alone." How could they claim to love a woman and treat her this way?

"Aw come on Jareth. That's ridiculous. If you love a woman, you'd fight for her back!" Jareth scoffed. What idiots. "No, you want her to be happy," he replied. "You will fight for her right to happiness. You'd be respectful and want the best for her, even if it costs your heart along with it! That is the definition of love. Love is being willing to sacrifice. Not money, not give her presents, but time. Being there for her is love. Sacrificing is love. You don't have to hurt yourself, but a break up does hurt. Now stop being pathetic and clean up!" Even as a human, Jareth still had the authority of a king. The two doofuses gave out apologies and finished closing the diner.

Jareth left the restaurant, now late at night. He really missed Sarah. How was it that everything happened so quickly? His heart was broken in two, and he couldn't do anything useful. His kingdom was still in suspension and now Sarah wanted nothing to do with him. Life ceased to have meaning for him. He wanted to die.

The Goblin King was so consumed in his thoughts that he didn't see a car coming through. Little did he know that he would be on death's door. The last thing he remembered was two bright lights colliding into him.

* * *

 **Ugh poor Jareth and poor Sarah. I'm on Jackie's side, this girl is frustrating as hell and why can't she just give Jareth a chance? The past two chapters have been pretty bleak, so I promise that the next one will be much better. Thank you again for reading and please leave a review! I really want to know what you're thinking.**


	10. Down in the Underground

Sarah stayed up all night until dawn. She reflected on Jackie's words, encouraging her to open her heart to Jareth or at least go back to being willing to open her heart. She reflected on her own feelings too, but not too much. Feelings are scary. Even through all of it, she still wore the owl necklace Jareth had given her on their first date. It was like she couldn't truly let him go.

He did mean something to Sarah, and she forced herself to finally let go of the fear that he would leave her. He was here to stay, and would be there for her even they ended up with other people. The love he had for her was real and pure. It wasn't blind; he saw her issues and called her out on them. He made her want to be a better person and she knew that she inspired him too. Jackie was right. He was someone special and it would be foolish for Sarah to not take that chance.

Sarah made up her mind. She would see Jareth and tell him that she cared for him and wanted to try again, if he was willing. She wasn't sure, but she had to try. "No more running away from my fears, but facing them," she told herself.

Grabbing her jacket, she almost left but was confronted by a wide-eyed Jackie. "Jackie, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Jackie held Sarah's hand for a moment. "Oh Sarah, I just received a phone call. I have to admit that I gave Jareth my number in case he wanted anything." She shushed Sarah, who no doubt wanted to ask questions. "But that doesn't matter. He just got hit by a car and is in critical condition at the hospital. He may not live..."

Sarah's face froze, blood draining from it as fast as it could. The whole time Jackie drove to the hospital, she hugged her legs, praying that he was safe. She just lost Toby, she didn't know what would happen if she lost Jareth. Especially now.

* * *

Sarah sprinted into the hospital, Jackie at her tail. "Sar, wait! Please!" Jackie was worried that her friend would go into shock, especially after losing someone so soon. She caught up to Sarah, and together the two women went to find the Goblin King.

Sarah felt like someone ripped her heart out, diced it, ran over it with a tractor, then burned it into the ground. Jareth was hooked up to more tubes and wires than Sarah could've imagined possible on a person. His head was bandaged up, and his face was scarred. He didn't even look alive. In fact, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Jackie put a hand on Sarah's shoulder, and Sarah in turn squeezed it.

"Jackie, is it alright if I have the whole day with him alone? I'll be okay, I promise. I'll call if I need anything." Jackie nodded, and left. Sarah drew a chair next to Jareth and placed his hand on her heart, tears dripping down her eyes.

"Jareth," she began. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you can. For a long time, Toby prevented the walls of my heart from completely forming. When you came, you were patient, and you slowly took them down. After Toby died, the walls came back up. But, I'm ready to take them down again. I'm sorry it took me so long. I hope I'm not too late." Her voice turned into a whisper. "Please Jareth, come back to me. Stay with me. Don't leave me and I won't run away and leave you alone ever again."

A memory came back. The memory of the King singing a song to her during a dance in the Labyrinth. This time, she would sing it back to him.

 _There's such a sad love_

 _Deep in your eyes._

She now understood that he loved her, and he had that sad look in his eyes. Now she was having that sad feeling in her heart.

 _A kind of pale jewel_

 _Open and closed_

 _Within your eyes._

 _I'll place the sky_

 _Within your eyes._

She never thought that she was the sky in Jareth's eyes, but he certainly put it in hers. He made her smile, and was a faithful and honest man.

 _As the pain sweeps through,_

 _Makes no sense for you._

 _Every thrill is gone._

 _Wasn't too much fun at all,_

 _But I'll be there for you_

 _As the world falls down._

He was always there for her when she needed, and was always respectful. He stood up for her when times were rough, not just having fun with her when times were good.

 _There's such a fooled heart_

 _Beatin' so fast_

 _In search of new dreams._

 _A love that will last_

 _Within your heart._

 _I'll place the moon_

 _Within your heart._

She wanted a new dream, a dream of a future with him, someone who would actually appreciate and treasure her. And, from what Jareth told her, he needed her too.

 _I'll paint you mornings of gold._

 _I'll spin you Valentine evenings._

 _Though we're strangers 'til now,_

 _We're choosing the path_

 _Between the stars._

 _I'll leave my love_

 _Between the stars_.

They were strangers, but now they were more than friends. She now understood that he loved her, and gave her those mornings of gold and valentine evenings just for the sake of it. Love was a constant thing, driven not just by feelings alone but from true commitement, something that Jareth proved time and atime again to her.

Could it be? Did she feel the same way?

 _Falling._

 _Falling down._

 _Falling in love._

Sarah choked on the last word. She did love him. She would do anything for him, even trading her own life. "Jareth, I'm so sorry for not wanting to let myself feel it earlier, but I love you. I think always have, and I always will." She kissed his cheek, where it wasn't scarred.

The Labyrinth Champion sobbed into his chest, not realizing what was happening. It was so gradual. Scars began to heal. Color returned to the king's face, and bandages were coming off. His neatly "normal" cut hair was growing out into the different lengths and mess that it was before he came Above.

Sarah jumped back as her beloved took a deep breath in and opened his mismatched eyes. She watched, amazed as the tubes fell out of his body and his clothes from the Underground came back. Gone was the boring hospital gown, replaced by leather boots and tights and a poet's shirt. The Conquerer of the Labyrinth and King of Goblins was back.

Jareth stared at his gloved hands and his attire before looking at Sarah. He knew that Sarah finally loved him. His part was done, the sacrifice was when he left her to be happy on her own. His heart had been ripped apart and if he hadn't gotten hit by a car, he would've died from a broken heart.

Sarah was still staring, not quite sure what happened. But, she knew that Jareth was okay. For a brief moment, they stared at each other's eyes, basking in that moment of happiness. "Jareth, you came back to me. You came back!" Sarah threw her arms around him and felt his deep chuckle vibrating on his chest. Jareth tilted her chin up, smiling down on her. He leaned forward to capture her lips in his.

The kiss was intense, and dare she think this? It was magical. Tears were streaming down both faces, heart rates rising, and love confessions were made.

"Sarah, oh I love you." "I love you too, Jareth." He smiled. "I have to tell you something that I couldn't before." Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Before he could answer, an angry red crystal formed before their very eyes. "Damn it," Jareth said worriedly. "What's this?" Sarah had never seen any of his crystals be anything other than clear. "My love, this is a grave warning from the Southern Guardian. I'm afraid our story will have to wait." He kissed her cheek, and took the crystal in his right hand, the other still around her shoulders.

"Well, well, it seems that you have your magic back! Nice work on the sacrifice and getting her to love you to break the spell. Don't forget about the ambassador!" The centaur said, making Sarah confused. Jareth shushed both of them. "Sarah, I'll explain to you, I promise. Guardian, what is the issue?" The centaur's face turned from amusement to extreme worry. "The jiangshi have awakened. Something or someone has woken them up and had been working on it for the past week or two. You must protect your kingdom and the Underground. No one is able to currently enter for the High Queen has sealed off any entrances and exits in hopes of containing the monsters. I'm sorry."

Jareth didn't know why this was happening, but a new sense of conviction and pride entered into his soul. No one can come into HIS kingdom and bully HIS subjects! It was his duty, his right and responsibility to save everyone and he'd do it with or without help.

"Oh, and one more thing," said the guardian. "Bring Sarah with you. She has magic of her own, very powerful magic. It's unfortunate that she will learn on the fly, but without her, you will not only fail, you will die. Good luck, Goblin King." And with that, the red crystal disappeared.

Jareth was ready to answer Sarah's questions that he was sure she had, but surprisingly, she said "Jareth. I will fight alongside you. I'll be patient and will look forward to hearing the whole story later. This is not the time for questions, but to fight and protect." She kissed him. Jareth was relieved, and gave her a small kiss to say thank you.

* * *

The Labyrinth looked so dark and dreary compared to the last time Sarah had been there. Everything felt cold and evil. Wails and screeches could be heard from all around them.

Jareth refreshed her on the jiangshi, and while she really did not want to face them, she was glad she was doing it wth Jareth. He had given her a crash course in magic and mediums, also dropping the truth bomb that she was from the underground and used to be fey.

Jareth made sure Sarah was in arm's length of him. The last thing he wanted was for either of them to die or get hurt and get sent back to the Above without magic. He didn't want think about the price he did have to pay to the Southern Gaurdian to fix that mess again.

Sarah doubled over in pain. Jareth placed a hand over her lips to keep her mouth shut, scared that she would scream and alert those disgusting monsters. He was sorry that Sarah was getting her medium so painfully from all the years of it just building up inside of her. He held her waist with his other hand and tried to whisper calming words in her ears for comfort.

Sarah's hands shot forward, and shot out a, mirror? Jareth's mouth hung open in surprise. Mirrors were one the strongest mediums. The only other medium that was just as strong were crystals. He studied mirrors, as king, but was never able to perfect it. The High Queen was the only one who had this power, and no one had this power since she discovered her medium. Proud of his Champion and love of his life, he braced himself to be able to explain how to channel mirrors without actually having done so himself.

Sarah concentrated, letting the magic flow through her, and created a normal mirror on her own. She felt Jareth's hands on her arms, and his voice guiding her. "This makes so much sense. That's why you were able to contact your friends through a mirror, isn't it? You had magic even in the Above and didn't even know it." Sarah's heart swelled at his words. She could hear how proud he was of her, and it made her happy to hear it.

Jareth closed his eyes, trying to remember what he'd learned about mirrors. "Sarah, mirrors are a way of reflecting and transporting if embedded with magic. I cannot teach you everything, but let's see if you can transport something. Imagine an object that we can use to defeat the jiangshi, things like fire and peaches. Other things can distract them like coins and their own reflections." He held her arms, helping her to relax.

Sarah concentrated, and the normal mirror she had created began to change. She walked closer and in its reflection was no longer her face, but a small candle. Reaching in, she pulled it out. Jareth was delighted, but hoped that she could get stronger. And fast.

The jiangshi were getting closer and closer. "Sarah, get behind me and keep practicing. I'll ward these ones off!" The King and his Champion stood back to back, protecting each other. With every spell, Sarah became stronger and stronger but was also growing weaker from expending so much energy.

Jareth made three crystals, each of them becoming a bag of coins. While the jiangshi were picking them up, Jareth threw more crystals to douse them in fire. How could this have happened? He was gone for 5 months and they should've been frozen still. Someone was behind this, he was sure.

"Sarah, you're getting tired!" Too much use of magic can tire out a person and even kill them. He couldn't lose her again. Sarah nodded, sweat covering her brows. He conjured a water bottle for her before fighting the jiangshi again. "Drink, my love. And when you are ready, come help."

Sarah obliged. She was frustrated that she couldn't really perfect anything, but maybe she was ready to make things project out of the mirror like Jareth said she could do.

While her love was fighting a particularly cruel (and very smelly) zombie, she summoned fire, and blast it out onto it. Its screams were piercing, but she did it. Jareth turned around, surprised, but pleased. "That's my girl," he smiled. Sarah beamed back. Only Jareth could make her smile like that at a zombie apocalypse.

"My darling," he started. "I think I've gotten rid of the ones around here. There will be more coming, and I think we should get to the source." "Source?" There was a source to all this madness? "Yes Sarah, a source. Someone is commanding them I am sure. Follow me closely and let me know if you hear anything." She nodded, and let him lead the way.

* * *

The pair found a figure in a dark robe, summoning the dead from their graves. It reminded Sarah of the robe Maleficent wore in Sleeping Beauty, oozing with evil and destruction. Jareth had explained to Sarah that jiangshi had different "levels" that takes decades to become larger and more powerful. But this. This is insane. Whoever this was, was wreaking havoc among the entire underground.

Sarah looked over at Jareth. His jaw line set firm, his hands gripped hers awfully hard, and his breathing was shallow. The most striking part of his appearance were his eyes. Both stared ahead with conviction and anger. She knew what he was thinking. This person was desecrating the graves of his subjects, the subjects that he had worked so hard to form a real society and had fought so hard to protect. They deserved rest, and yet, here they were, their bodies being used for weapons for evil.

Jareth felt Sarah resting her hand on his shoulder. A small gesture, but it meant the world to him. It meant that he wasn't alone. It meant that she would be by his side even though they experienced their own tragedies not so long ago. He saw the horror but determination on her face. She would make a fine queen. He brought her face close to his for a kiss that may be their last.

Before their lips could touch, strong vines erupted from the ground, grasping the Labyrinth Conquerer and Champion apart from each other. Jareth struggled to form a crystal but his hands were tied so he couldn't do anything. Sarah looked like she was choking next to him, and he wanted nothing but to free her. It wasn't fair that she was in this situation, no matter how comforting it was to have her at his side.

The hooded figure walked closer towards them. With a gasp, Jareth knew who it was. "Kara," he grounded his teeth. Apparently Sarah saw someone else. Her face lost all color as she identified the person that caused all this mess. "Karen?"

"Hello Sarah. And it's good to see you again, Goblin King."

* * *

 **dun, Dun, DUN! Plot twist! So I guess things did get better with Jareth and Sarah reuniting and getting magic, but jeez everything seems pretty awful. Thanks for reading and I'll try to have the next chapter by the end of today or tomorrow morning! Much love to all you wonderful readers and please leave a review!**


	11. As the World Falls Down

Sarah was mortified. What was going on? What was her stepmother doing here in the Underground? Hell, who WAS she? And she knew Jareth? Why didn't he tell her anything?

Karen (Or Kara, as Jareth called her) gave a smile that wasn't really a smile. It made Sarah tremble with fear and Jareth even more angry. "YOU." He growled. "Yes, Goblin King, it's me. Now you recognize me. You really are pathetic without your magic, you know that? How tragic."

It occurred to Jareth that if only he had magic, he would've been able to detect Kara's magical scent. But that still didn't answer why he didn't detect her the two times he visited Sarah when she was above.

"Ah, if I had known the name of the Goblin King was Jareth, I would've gotten rid of you long ago," she sneered. Kara turned to Sarah. "You think you're so talented and so powerful, don't you?" Sarah didn't know what to say, so she just stared defiantly back. Kara placed two jewels under their feet, memory jewels.

The Goblin King and his Champion were sent into Kara's memory.

* * *

When Kara was a child, she wasn't like other kids. While children her age played with dolls or pretended to do magic by water or fire, she played with the dead. It was beyond appreciating death, she was obsessed with it. She read all the books she could on it, and was most fascinated with vampires and zombies.

Aside from her death obsession, Kara was also not a normal child. She would often take advantage of others by manipulation. She got jealous when Raina, her older sister, was chosen to become High Queen of the Underground. Why was it that she got to be all powerful? Raina couldn't protect anyone with her kindness and didn't have enough guts to protect their world. Angry at her sister's fortune, she "accidentally" pushed the High Queen down some stairs when she was pregnant, making her lose her child. Raina didn't have any proof of the incident, but made precautions around herself from then on.

She didn't understand what it was like to want someone else to be happy or to care for others. That was, until she had a child of her own.

Kara didn't have a real medium, as she discovered, but a high affinity for magic in general and brought the dead back to life. However, the dead was never the same person they were before. They were restless, and best used for fighting. She once raised a vampire from the dead, and they fell in love, or as much as one can love while being a psychopath. Soon after, Kara was with child.

Raina got wind of her sister having a vampire for a lover. This was not only unacceptable, but dangerous. A vampire was not a real entity, and disrupted the souls of the dead. They could make more people become vampires, and would usually kill for blood. And kill he did. Together, the despicable being and his fey companion went around, eating the newly dead. Soon, they made their way towards the children in the village, eating them alive. Nothing satisfied both of them more than the sounds of the blood-curdling screams they made, begging to stay alive but had their flesh torn little by little at a time instead.

When Raina heard what they did, she had had enough. She ordered a raid to kill this vampire that Kara was having a relationship with. She would not leave a soft spot for anyone who was a murderer, even her own sister.

Kara woke up to a loud scream next to her. Opening her eyes, she found that her lover was disintegrated from her own eyes. His red eyes melted from his face and his skin burnt in the sunlight. And the smell. Oh, the smell. The soldiers Raina had sent almost fainted from the smell it made. In Kara's panic, they seized her in iron cuffs, cutting off her magic.

Wearing a dark hood, Kara's face was hidden from everyone but her sister. In the presence of the High Queen, Kara kept a straight face that showed no anger and no other emotions. This scared Raina, since she could not read her sister. No doubt she was planning on revenge later. As much as Kara had hurt her, she desperately didn't want to do this. She loved her sister, and felt like she had failed her by letting her become this way and abandoning her. But, she had to do what she had to do. The other monarchs from all the other kingdoms were also there to witness trial, even the newly crowned Goblin King.

"Kara Iliane Trobera. You have been found doing destructive magic by bringing the dead back. You made him your lover, you killed 10 innocent children, and you have prevented the families from having proper burials by ingesting them. Do you deny these charges?" The other monarchs in the room tried to not make a gagging noise at this, and Jareth in particular looked green.

Kara looked calmly at her queen. "I do not deny these charges, your majesty." The last word came out mockingly. Raina nodded, and turned to the other monarchs. "My punishment to this criminal would be to send her to the Above, stripped of her powers and leaving her few form into a human. However, I will let the court decided what to do. I believe that she deserves to be able to come back to our society, embraced and dignified if she has truly repented of her sins. Therefore, I will not take her magic in the Underground away so the moment she steps back, she will be able to regain her magic." The kings and queens whispered among themselves. "On the other hand, we will strip all power, and will never let her come back. She will live out her days as a human. What says the court?"

Jareth couldn't believe his ears. The queen wants a murderer to have a chance? Why is she even being sent to the Above where she can hurt someone else? He didn't like it, but he just became king and he didn't want to be defiant yet. He was only 18 years old, and had a long ways to go before he was respected. But at the same time, he wanted to stand up for what he believed in. He had seen the tormenting young children had gone through, and no one should go scot-free from a sin such as this.

The High Queen asked each monarch one by one for a vote. "Queen of the Elves, what say you?" A tall, striking woman came forward. "Your majesty, it is in the values of elves to be compassionate and caring. Maybe her time in the Above will humble her, but we must be very sure. I vote for her to be able to come back." She bowed and walked back. The High Queen nodded, signaling for the next monarch to come forward. "King of Dwarves, what say you?" A short man with a beard came forward. He also made a bow to the Queen. "Your Majesty, while the dwarves believe in compassion, there are sins that cannot be cleansed. Kara has proven time and time again that she did not care for others, and will do whatever her mind tells her to do. She is a danger to society, and no matter how much kindness we have given her, she is still not remorse. I say we let her go Above, with no chance of coming back." He also made a bow, and backed down.

This went on and on, until it reached Jareth. "Labyrinth Conquerer and King of Goblins, what say you?" Jareth stepped forward. He knew that everyone was still seeing him as a child, and didn't take his crown seriously seeing as he was the first and only King of Goblins. Although, none of them had run the Labyrinth and made it without assistance from another monarch, so he did have that to his advantage.

The room went silent as the young king stepped forward. He was wearing an all black attire, completed with a large cape. Even with his messy hair, he still looked like a king. Jareth decided to say what was right. He was a king now, no longer a child that had to be obedient. He needed to do what was best for the Underground. "Your majesty, I know you will not like hearing this, but I do not even think that you should be allowing her to go Above freely." The room whispered at his words, questioning the High Queen's decision. Jareth did not let this deter him. "I think she should live out her life in the Underground prison where she cannot hurt anyone, or bring back the death penalty. She has caused much grief to the Underground in addition to her wrongdoings to the children." He felt a nudge at his side. The Fairy King whispered, "Boy, this is the Queen's SISTER. Do not be so defiant, you are so young and it will be a sticking point between you and the High Queen for the rest of your reign." Jareth's eyes widened. This was her sister? Well no wonder she was being so lenient.

Kara snarled at the young king's declaration. How DARE he? Who did this child think he was? She vowed to herself that she would take revenge on him and his Labyrinth as soon as she could. Raina clapped her hands once, and the room quiet down. Everyone stood still, terrified for Jareth. "Goblin King, do you dare question my decision?" She said it threateningly, and Jareth wasn't sure what she could do to him, but held his ground. "Yes, your majesty." The entire room gasped. This behavior was out of the ordinary and so inappropriate. "I think that you have a soft spot for your sister. It makes sense, I understand, but I think it is clouding your judgement." He stood still, waiting for what the Queen would say next.

"Young King, you have much to learn. Just because you have played with children for the past 5 human years and beaten a Labyrinth, you think that you are all powerful and my equal. You are not. I am the High Queen, and I have thought about this decision very clearly. Since you are young, and I will let this go today. Do not accuse me of playing favorites and do not show such disrespect to me again. Now, I ask you one last time. What is your decision?" Jareth fumed. He wanted to keep on fighting, but the other monarchs looked at him. Some looked fearful for him, others looked annoyed, and the rest looked like they would hurt him if he dared insult the High Queen. Subccuming to pressure, the Goblin King dropped the subject. "Your majesty, I vote to have her stay Above for the rest of her life." He bowed, and blended in with the rest of the monarchs, still fuming.

After all the monarchs made their votes, it was decided that Kara would have compassion from them and had a chance to come back. Kara was sent above, without anything to her name. They still did not know that she carried a child within her, and someday, they will pay for taking her to a land of no magic. Before she left, she sent some magical artifacts to awaken the dead to become jaingshi, so she could use them as an army when she came back.

After some time, Kara married many men, all who died very suspiciously by her hand. But, she was charming and was always able to get more men. Her daughter, Lisa, grew up to be quite spoiled. Kara was patient until the day Lisa could go back to the Underground with her. She did not tell her daughter of her identity as a half human, half vampire with powers unseen until they were ready to come to the Underground for their revenge in order in protect her.

The fey turned human collected many expensive paintings and artifacts over the years, making her magic grow more and more. Whenever times got difficult, she remembered her revenge. Not long after, she met Robert Williams, a man who so loved his daughter, a disgusting little thing that was obsessed with imagination and being all nice like those ridiculous Disney Princesses. This was perfect, she told herself. He had magical artifacts that could help her to regain her own magic. With a few spells, she made Robert forget about his time Underground as well. That scumbag went and slept with his ex wife, and slut bore him a son. Robert begged for both his wife and ex wife to let him keep his little boy, and Kara agreed to pretend that he was her son. He was so weak, letting her control everything. He wouldn't see that Sarah and Toby were often hurt at his wife and stepdaughter's hands. What a pathetic person.

She was suspicious of Jareth ever since he came into Sarah's life. Randomly met her at a coffee shop? Why would he care for her so much? She let herself concentrate on getting her powers back. The last thing she had to do, was to commit a murder. For you see, Kara was dealing with very dark magic that came so much easier to her than any other way since she had murdered all those children.

The woman followed Jareth, and made sure to hit them right as he was driving home. Unfortunately, she had hit Toby instead of Jareth, but it still had the same effect. She took Lisa and ran to the Underground as soon as she could. Conjuring the jiangshi again, she taught Lisa how to use magic, and was delighted to learn that her daughter's medium was earth. She would be able to control so much.

Their forces got stronger and stronger, the only thing stopping them now was the King of Goblins and her stepdaughter.

* * *

Sarah stared ahead in terror. She had no idea that she had lived with a cannibal-murderer-zombie-raiser. Jareth looked ahead, angry that the High Queen had put them in such a situation. He was also frustrated with himself, that he didn't stand up more during her trial.

Another hooded figure came into view. Jareth and Sarah didn't need to pull back the hood to see who she was. Soft, white hands pulled back the hood, and Lisa smiled with her new pointy teeth. This was no longer Sarah's old bully, but a half fey, half vampire who could not die by conventional ways like sunlight because her fey blood protected her. She was too powerful for a vampire, too powerful for a fey.

With a snap of her fingers, Lisa commanded the vines to release the couple. Jareth and Sarah fell down, weak from their earlier fight. "How pathetic. A king, and you choose this trash. You deserve something more." Oh, how she LOVED to mock Sarah. Without a warning, Lisa lunged toward Jareth, fangs out.

"NO!" Sarah screamed. She would NOT lose Jareth again and she knew that a fate as a vampire would be worse than death for him. Everything happened so fast. A mirror shot out of Sarah's hand, and it shattered prematurely. One of the larger shards lodged itself into Lisa's heart, and the vampire screamed as blood leaked from her clothes. Sarah watched in horror as she realized that her stepsister had died by her hand.

Jareth joined by her side. Kara was still, then turned to Sarah and Jareth. Even with all the violence and abuse, Sarah had never seen this murderous expression on her face. "You. Killed. Lisa. For that, you will die the most painful death!"

Kara held her daughter in her hands, and the shard expelled from her body. Green lights swirled around Lisa, and the girl sat up. But, she didn't look alive. In fact, Sarah was sure that she was-

"SARAH RUN!" Jareth grabbed her hand they sprinted away. "Jareth, what is going on?!" Sarah didn't know what to do. She didn't know where to go, except to follow him. "Sarah, Lisa has turned into a jiangshi and will chase you until she has either turned you or killed you. We need to get out of here and fast." They could hear Lisa getting stronger, going from jumping to running to flying.

Jareth took a chance. He grabbed Sarah's waist. "Hold on to me! I'm transporting us Above!" It was a dangerous move. Jareth still had not fully recovered from his lost magic, and they could end up anywhere, from the top of Mount Everest or the bottom of the ocean.

And with that, the Goblin King held onto his love for dear life.

* * *

Sarah looked around. Her head hurt from the spinning, and she was still holding onto Jareth's neck. They were alive and safe! Looking at each other, they were about to kiss after that near-death scare, but heard a voice that they didn't expect to hear.

"Well Jareth. Looks like you're here after stealing my daughter." Robert Williams was holding a little red book, one that Sarah and Jareth had been looking for, the book that led to all of this.

* * *

 **Whoo! Two chapters in one day. You guys are lucky! ;) I'm even horrified at Kara/Karen. I hope that I explained everything well enough, like the fact that Jareth didn't detect her was because she didn't have magic. It's like another sense, he didn't see her so he didn't know what she looked like and when he didn't have magic, he couldn't sense anything. The story is near-ish to ending, maybe a few more chapters. We'll see how it goes! If you guys like it enough, I'll write a sequel. I do have an idea for another fic though so I'll probably write that one first if I have time.**

 **I do have some reading to do for my medical anthropology class (yes, I am taking summer classes), so I may or may not update tomorrow. Although, I'm having more fun writing this than read a really dense book! Thanks again for reading. I can't tell you how much it means to me. As always, let me know how I'm doing by dropping that review.**


	12. My Way Back to You

"Dad? What's going on?" Memories of the night Toby died came rushing back, memories of her father's and her love's contradicting stories. Sarah was still unsure of what to do. She loved her father. And she wanted his approval and love.

Jareth tightened his grip on Sarah's waist. "What is that you're holding?" He knew exactly what Robert was holding, but he wanted to hear him explain himself. Even with the king's intimidating stance, Robert did not back down.

"I found this book, Goblin King. You lied to Sarah about who you are, and I have it all figured out. You tried to steal her from me! You even wrote her a letter to-" Robert stopped himself, his face turning pale when he realized that he just accidentally implicated himself in front of his daughter.

Sarah couldn't believe it. What was going on? Jareth gently let go of her waist, and walked over to the older man. He threw a crystal over his head. Instead of breaking or bouncing off, the crystal soaked into his head like a bubble. It seemed that Robert knew exactly what it did and his eyes got larger in fear. Sarah felt betrayed. Did her father lie to her about something?

"Now," said Jareth, circling around Robert like a vulture, "You will answer my questions truthfully and completely. I normally do not make truth serums. They expend too much energy and I don't like forcing anyone to do anything. But for the sake of your daughter, I think this is necessary. Only monarchs have the ability to do this," he told Sarah. "My first question is, what is the real truth of Sarah's childhood? Who is she really?"

Robert looked very uncomfortable under the interrogation that Jareth was putting him under. He looked at Sarah for sympathy. Normally, she'd give it to him, but after seeing how the High Queen had let Kara go because she let her feelings come before anything else, she kept her face stone cold. She wanted the truth, and she wanted it NOW.

Robert sighed. "We were fey, living Underground. We were happy. But, apparently your mom was not, so we moved Above. Soon after, she left us to go to Hollywood. I didn't want to come back to the Underground because of shame. You were always so sad and bitter, so I gave you fake memories to protect you. I also did it because you hated me and I didn't want to be blamed for always trying to please Linda." Robert didn't even look too sad about this. Jareth leaned in dangerously close. "And you know, it is illegal to tamper or erase memories and only monarchs and their representatives may do it." Robert nodded. Jareth popped his knuckles to further scare the man. "Please go on. Who am I, and why do you hate me so much?"

"You are Jareth, the Goblin King, Conquerer of the Labyrinth. I have known you since you were eight years old, and so did Sarah." Sarah gasped. She knew Jareth at that age? Robert nodded. "You two were best friends, and cared so much about each other. When Jareth was 13, he found his medium and became the Goblin King. He left you, and you wanted to wait for him. I never liked him because he could always see that I was too protective of you and didn't like anyone coming near you. I was possessive of you."

Sarah tried to not lose her temper. Her father had LIED to her about everything. She could've had her powers sooner. She could've stayed with Jareth. She could've avoided her zombie-loving stepmother and her vampire-stepsister!

"Jareth, may I ask a few questions?" Jareth nodded, and Robert's eyes got even bigger. Sarah stood directly in front of him. "What happened the day Toby died?"

Robert knew he was about to damn himself, but the truth serum forced him to admit what had really happened. "What I said was true, about me going to get Toby from Jareth's coworker since you and Jareth were elsewhere and no one knew where you were. After getting evidence, I drove back home, knowing that Jareth would come back and that he would not harm Toby. I lied to you about Jareth killing Toby because, again, I was possessive over you. I regret that I didn't stay to watch more since Toby died." Sarah nodded, not wanting to contemplate too much. She continued with her questions.

"Why did you marry Karen?"

The answer was simple. "I was lonely, and she gave me that comfort."

"Then why did you sleep with Mom after?" "Karen and I had a falling out once, remember? I went to see your mom to make arrangements for you, and in a moment of weakness, she eventually became pregnant with Toby. She said she would abort the child, but I begged to keep Toby. Karen didn't like it, so she told me that she would have her way. I ignored all the things she put you and Toby through to make her happy. I didn't want to be lonely or to have her leave me as Linda had. I feel bad that I did it but I was more concerned about my own well being than you or your brother's." Sarah balled her fists. "I cannot believe that you would lie to me like that!" She paced around to calm herself, her fingers massaging her temple. "Okay, next question. Did you know that Karen is a murderer and cannibal from the Underground and that Lisa is a half vampire?"

Robert genuinely looked shocked. "No! I mean I knew that Karen was from the Underground, but no not all of this. She told me that she left to find a new life because her husband left her, and that's where Lisa came from. Who is she?"

Jareth snarled. "WE are here to ask questions. I think the least you can do for Sarah is to tell her the truth. As you can see, she's having an existential crisis right now." Truth is, he was having fun with this. The man deserved to be interrogated. If Sarah wasn't so distressed, he'd have a lot more fun.

Speaking of Sarah, the young human rolled her eyes. "Jareth, you are so dramatic." At this statement, Jareth arrogantly cocked his head to the side. "Well, you didn't say that I was wrong, did you precious?" Sarah scoffed. He really was ridiculous and dramatic. And if she was honest with herself, she knew that it was one of the reasons that she found him charming. On the other hand, Robert looked disgusted at them both.

She asked another question. "Do you have magic right now?" Robert took a deep breath in. "Yes I do, but I think Karen was able to sap most of it away. I can detect things still, but I am not able to perform any spells." Sarah nodded. She let every information sink in. She was exhausted. It had been a long day.

After gathering her thoughts, she let Jareth ask the next questions. "Robert, what is so interesting about the book? Hmm?" Robert grind his teeth. Of all people Sarah had to fall for, it had to be this annoying, glittery fey. He knew this was going to be the thing that would make Sarah the most angry. "After we had moved here for a while, Jareth wrote you a letter. I didn't want you to have it, and I tore it. Turns out that it just made the damned thing stronger, and it became a freaking book and told some story. I couldn't destroy it. Nothing worked. And apparently, you summoned him one night. I could tell, just from the aura of the house. But, for some reason, I forgot all about it until I found the book again just now. I don't know why my memory was lost."

Sarah was furious. "YOU HID A LETTER THAT JARETH WROTE ME? HOW DISGUSTING." He went through great lengths to cover up her friendship and subsequent relationship with the Goblin King. And, he didn't do it out of love, he did it out of possessiveness and wanting control. Robert hung his head in shame, but Sarah didn't care. She turned to Jareth, who was obviously having the time of his life seeing Sarah grill her father.

The King walked closer to his Champion and put an arm around her and wiped the tears off her face. "There there, it's going to be okay. It's okay to cry now, but it's alright." He shot Robert a dark look, almost daring him to try to comfort Sarah. "Sarah-mine, would you like to read my original letter from me?" She sniffled, but gave an excited nod.

Jareth handed her the book back. "Turn to cover page," he told her. Listening to him, Sarah opened to see a hand written letter, one that wasn't there before. The handwriting looked like it was trying to look pretty, but failed. At least it was readable.

 _My Dearest Sarah,_

 _I'm back from the Above. I'm sorry that it's been so long (at least for me), I wasn't allowed to send you anything during that time. I really hate rules sometimes. But Sarah, I think I'm going to love being King. The goblins are so ridiculous but so much fun, and I get to take care of the kids that are abandoned. I can almost see your face, you probably think it's insane that I am actually good with children! The kids Above are so sweet too, but I hate the fact that they suffered every single day. There's protests to make people of all color be equal. Can't you believe that? Even of the same species, humans can be so cruel. At the same time, they're amazing. There's so many interesting things, like a car! It's a like a carriage but it goes super fast without magic. I'll tell you everything if I get the chance to see you._

 _Do you remember when I left? I said that I'd wait for you. I really want to wait for you, and it's alright if we don't end up together, but Sarah, you are special to me. I at least want to be your friend forever. I hope you're doing well. After I ran the Labyrinth (some idiotic test every monarch has to go through), I had other "kingly" things to do, as my subjects call it. I want to see you, and I tried to go back to the village but you're gone, so this letter has magic in it. I hope it finds you. I hope you're well. I miss you._

 _Take care of yourself, will you? And if you don't want to talk to me, that's fine, but I'd like to know. Also, I still use those amazing gloves you gave me. I enchanted them to change colors. I hope you don't mind. They're so useful and you're so talented at sewing._

 _You're one of the best people I know. You deserve happiness, Sarah, and maybe you can visit me in my castle. I think the goblins would love you._

 _Yours,_

 _Jareth, King of the Goblins and Conquerer of the Labyrinth_

Sarah's eyes were misty. She could see that Jareth loved her even back then. The innocence of the letter meant so much to her, and the interest he had in politics and children were a nice touch. She turned to her love. "Oh Jareth, you're so sweet and I'm so sorry..." He hugged her. "Shh, it's okay. It's not your fault." He shot another glare at Robert to remind him that it was his fault. He turned back to Sarah.

"When you told me about the book, I wasn't sure where it wasn't or where it was from. I had a hunch, and now it all makes sense. This book survived because of the amount of love that was in it. As cheesy as it sounds, love is the strongest magic of all. It reunited us even though you had forgotten your love for me." He stroked her long hair and kissed the top of it.

"I wish I could remember," she mumbled into his shirt.

Jareth looked at Robert. "Do you have the vial of her memories?" Robert said (through forced teeth), "Yes. It's in my drawer upstairs. It's a red substance, Sarah. Just drink it and all your real memories will come back." Sarah shot upstairs, eager to find it.

After a few minutes of rummaging through the drawer, she found it, all red and swirling. She was surprised that Karen didn't confiscate it, but maybe she had more things to worry about. Uncapping it, Sarah poured it in her mouth. It didn't taste like anything, but she felt her head fill with memories she didn't know she had. She remembered Grandma Elise helping her infuse Jareth's gloves with magic. She remembered spending time with her friends and baking snacks. So many memories, and so many happy ones. She had always wanted to be loved, and now she understood that she was loved by so many.

And no one loved her more than Jareth.

She walked downstairs and threw her arms around him. "Jareth! I made the gloves!" He laughed in her hair. "Yes you did! And they were amazing." Both did not realize that Robert walked out on them, escaping into the unknown.

* * *

 **WOW! Another chapter today! I hope this one clears everything else up for you guys. Thank you so much all! Let me know what you think of it!**


	13. You Have No Power Over Me

Since they were Above and safe from Kara, Jareth took the opportunity to prepare Sarah for the battle that was to come. He was giving them only 2 more hours Above. Time cannot be wasted when the entire Underground was under attack, and his kingdom would be the first to go. Luckily, there weren't any deaths yet.

"I can't do it." Sarah whispered, defeated. She hadn't slept in ages and barely had time to process everything. And on top of that, she was now was gearing up to fight a war. Even her own father had escaped from their watchful eyes. She had just rediscovered that most of her memories were fake, she had been lied to by her father, gotten her boyfriend back to life and back to her, her undead stepsister was chasing after her as a freaky zombie, and her stepmother was a cannibal all in one day. Feeling weak, she sat on the couch and cried. What she really wanted was for Jareth to tell her that it was okay, and to cuddle in his arms.

Jareth really did feel bad for her, but now was a horrible time to rest and cry. War doesn't wait for anyone, even the Goblin King and (he hoped) his future queen. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and give her nice food and let her drift to sleep next to him. In order to get Sarah to really try and not whine about how tired she was, Jareth had to put away his soft and kind personality and put on his kingly persona. Wiping away the kindness from his eyes, he stood in an intimidating stance in front of her. "Sarah! The Underground is depending on the two of us to save it! Think of your friends. This is a WAR! I may have helped you during your run, but you are still a champion! I know this isn't easy, but creatures will die unless you get up right now and fight!"

Sarah was shocked. Her first reaction was to stomp away and tell Jareth that he was being insensitive. Just as she was about to tell him off, she saw a look in his eyes. Behind all of that frustration, she could see that he was sorry for her. _He's putting up a show_ , she thought to herself. But, even with a show, his words weren't wrong; the Underground DID depend on the two of them. The Southern Guardian said so. She HAD to do it, no matter what was going on in her head.

She stood up, took a few deep breaths and looked back at Jareth. "Okay, I'm ready. I'll put my emotions aside and do what it takes." Jareth nodded, and let a small smile escape. "That's my girl," he whispered. Sarah beamed, but was quickly humbled by him throwing crystals at her.

"Hey! What in the world-" the crystals kept turning into different things. Some turned into water and splashed her. Some into ropes that bounded her wrists. Some even turned into birds. She looked at Jareth, but he just stood there, filing his nails. He looked more bored than a frat boy at a party without alcohol.

Annoyed at Jareth, Sarah concentrated, and called upon a mirror to send everything into a portal. The ropes snapped from her wrists, and the birds flew into a mirror. After sealing it, Sarah was pleased to see that it worked. She looked over at Jareth, and he gave her a singular nod. "Sarah, it's going to be difficult. I need you to know that Kara may throw in personal trauma back to you, and you cannot let it waver your trust in me or deter your resolve to protect the Underground and trap her." He looked at Sarah, worriedly. Sarah nodded. "There's nothing to be worried about, Jareth. I trust you all the way. I love you." She gave him a small kiss on the lips.

He had to smile a little, he couldn't help himself. "While I appreciate it, Precious, I'm saying that she may not just use words, but very convincing illusions or even objects. Please keep in mind everything. Remember, let your emotions go aside except for the few that are necessary to fuel you to fight. Place your trust in me and I will place mine in yours. Together, we will defeat this and we will deal with trauma later. I promise." He was about to kiss her on the head, but gave her a very passionate kiss on the lips instead. He hoped beyond hope that they would make it alive, but it wasn't guaranteed. But, if anyone can make it, he and Sarah could.

* * *

Sarah felt a new surge of conviction in her veins. She wanted to go out and save her friends. She thought of Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo, and so many other creatures that depended on her and Jareth to save all of them.

They found some perfume in the Above that smelled like peaches, making the jiangshi avoid them, and it worked wonders. None of them realized that Sarah and Jareth were there as the couple snuck by, flat against the walls. It also helped that Jareth knew his Labyrinth so well (although, the Labyrinth was ever changing so a surprise is always possible).

After disintegrating a few jiangshis and navigating around the Labyrinth's walls, the Conquerer and Champion found themselves right behind Kara. She was atop a wall, and they were on the bottom, trying to configure themselves to execute their plan.

A shadow appeared in front of them, nearly making Sarah scream. Sarah sent a blast of light from her hands, trying to obliterate the jiangshi. More started to come, and together with Jareth, they stood back to back, fighting. It was strange, she thought. Unlike all the other jiangshi, this one was small, like a child. Maybe it was a goblin and one of the newer ones that didn't have the chance to grow yet.

She shot the creature backwards. She readied a fire blast, but paused in fright when she took a closer look. It wasn't green and decaying. It didn't smell like a dead thing. It didn't even move like a dead person.

It was Toby.

Whimpering, she nudged Jareth to look as well. The King turned for a brief moment, also stunned. However, he cleared his head much quicker than Sarah. "Sarah! Remember what I told you! DO NOT fall for it! Kara is tricking you, it must be an illusion. Don't listen to it!"

Sarah couldn't help but stare at him. Toby looked so small and scared. She wanted to go over and hug him, kiss him, tell him that he would be alright. "Sarah," he said. Oh, his little voice sounded the same as before, sweet and pure. "Sarah, I'm back. Mom got me back. I know you know that she's not my real mom, but she loves me. She brought me back to life."

"NO!" Yelled Sarah. "Kara killed you! I saw it myself! She hates you!" Tears welled up in her eyes. The world seemed to slow down around her and Toby.

"No Sarah, she loved me. You were the one that abandoned me when you went with Jareth. You were so excited to finally have a man in your life that you forgot about me. You didn't even realize that he was being nice to me just so he could win you. What will he do? Marry you? Then you'll just make him strong. He doesn't love you. He didn't love me either."

Sarah stared at him, wanting to sob. He listed off many of her doubts and worries about herself and Jareth, doubts that she thought she had reconciled. Doubts that should've been gone because she put her faith in Jareth. She blamed herself for Toby's death. She didn't know what her future would be with Jareth.

Looking up again, she saw that everything was normal. The world was bright and sunny. She was in a lovely summer dress, and Toby in some nice clothes. Her work at the publishing company had brought her great success, and everyone was praising her. Even Lisa was there, smiling at her like Sarah always wanted her to. She stood, looking around. "Sarah," Toby walked forward. "You can have all of this. Karen brought me back, and if we leave right now, we can be happy forever."

Toby offered her some cake from the party. "Have some, sis." He smiled at her. Sarah took a spoon, dug into the chocolate cake, and let it pause at her lips. Something didn't feel right, but she wasn't sure what. She turned to look at Toby. He nodded, his innocent face encouraging her to enjoy the delicious cake. It was then that Sarah realized what was off. The irises of his eyes were red, not the usually brown color that they were. She noticed that Lisa's were the same way.

"No, go away. Jareth LOVES me and he loved Toby! You are NOT Toby!" She threw the cake on the ground and rained fire on both of them. Toby-jiangshi was able to run away, but Lisa-jiangshi became a heap of ash, no longer chasing after Sarah. "You two are jiangshi! Oh god, what did Karen do to Toby's body?!"

Toby-jiangshi snarled, and lunged at Sarah. She barely kept Toby-jiangshi head at bay, preventing him from biting her. "And for rejecting my offer, you will become one of us and your king will die alongside you!"

Suddenly, it hit her. She recalled Jareth's words of warning, to trust him and to not listen to the illusions. She threw the jiangshi on the ground, pinning him with a nearby chair. With a gust of confidence, with 6 little words, she made a boldness declaration.

"You have no power over me."

The jiangshi screamed, and the bubble around them dissolved. Toby-jiangshi was still there, and with a chill, Sarah understood that Kara had taken her baby brother's body and turned it into one of her minions. She concentrated, and with a blast of fire, she simultaneously disintegrated the jiangshi and cleansed Toby's body by fire. A gust of wind blew it away before she could do anything to save the ashes, but might as well. He would live on in the Labyrinth.

"SARAH!" Jareth's voice pierced through the air like a sword. She ran over to her beloved. His clothes were torn, and his face was black and bruised. Even through it all, he remained just as ready to fight as before. "Our plan won't work! The oubliette has been ruined and crumbled!" They had planed to send Kara there until they can get the other monarchs to help them deal with her.

There was no time for Plan B for Bog, it was too far away and would most likely make the jiangshi angrier. They probably should've thought of a Plan C before coming back. Kara appeared before them, ready to fight. Jareth and Sarah automatically stood side by side, ready to take on whatever she threw at them.

Her stepmother eyed them both with great disdain. "My my, it seems that it's time to finally end both of you. I will never, EVER forget that pain the both of you have brought me!" She sent a blast of water at them, but Jareth quickly maneuvered himself and Sarah out of the way. They each tried to throw different things at her, but nothing worked.

Just as she was about to give up, Sarah had a great idea. "Jareth! We need to join together! It's what the Southern Guardian said!" He made a face. "Yes Sarah, thank you for pointing out what we're doing. If this isn't working together then I don't know what is." She scoffed at him. "No, I mean I can summon the sun, and you can use its rays to kill the rest of the jiangshi and then we can trap her in a room!" Jareth yelled in frustration. "SARAH THAT IS TOO DANGEROUS!" He was afraid that she would expend too much of her magic and kill herself. How in the world was she so calm about this?

"I'm doing it Jareth, whether you like it or not!" Sarah clapped her hands together, and widened out to reveal a mirror. On the other side of it was the sun. Jareth had no choice but to go with her plan, and conjured a crystal to aim its strong rays onto the jiangshi, killing them more quickly and effectively than how he had done it before.

Kara's power was draining with every jiangshi gone. "You ruined this for me!" She screeched at Sarah. Sarah stood face to face with her step mother. "You don't have power over me any longer, Kara. Now Jareth!" Jareth threw a crystal, transforming into two iron chains that closed around Kara's wrists. Sarah created a portal, and she disposed of her stepmother in a small room and sealed her in there. "There," she said to no one in particular. "You'll be stuck here until WE decide to let you out. If you break the mirror from your side, you're stuck there, Kara!" Kara pounded at the mirror, upset and silently wailing.

* * *

After carrying the mirror back into Jareth's castle, Sarah collapsed on the ground. Jareth rushed over to her, very worried. Despite gaining her magic, Sarah was still human, and humans did not have magic nearly as strong as magical creatures like fey. He brought her some food and water, but he was losing her fast. "Oh gods, please no," he whispered. He couldn't lose her, oh he couldn't!

Sarah still didn't respond, Jareth tried to scan her body, but he was no physician and could not find anything. He sobbed into her chest, feeling that these were her last moments. Suddenly, bright lights appeared in his throne room, and 3 beings descended, two females and a male. It was clear that one female seemed to be the leader of the group. They seemed to radiate power and commanded respect just by being there. The lead female had a small circlet around her head, signaling her status as a queen. She wore a loose shirt with a large belt cinched around the waist and dark pants paired with laced boots. The male wore almost identical attire, but without a crown. The other female wore a deep crimson dress etched with gold. Though they had kind and smiling faces, Jareth's experience as king taught him that no one should be trusted easily. He clutched Sarah closer to his body.

The lead female spoke. "Jareth, Conquerer of the Labyrinth and King of the Goblins, you have saved the Underground today along with Sarah, your love. She has proven worthy and able to be a fine queen, a blessing that we all give. She has also proven herself to be not just a Champion, but a Conquerer of the Labyrinth. For that, we will turn her fey." Jareth watched in awe as the three of them bowed their heads and said a small chant. Blue lights floated around Sarah's head, and entered deep in her heart. She did not look different, but Jareth could feel that her body was stronger and would be able to withstand the fatigue and stamina almost a shot well as he could.

The dark-haired beauty rubbed her eyes open. "Jareth?" She wrapped her arms around him, kissing Jareth's tear-streaked face. As happy as he was to have her back, he was so tired and done with these reunions with her. Can't he just have peace with her?

After their tearful reunion, they turned to the three beings. "Who are you?" Asked Sarah. The female in the dress smiled. "We are the Kolanians, from a planet eons away, known as Gods and Goddesses." Immediately, Jareth went on his knees and bowed at their feet, indicating that Sarah do it too. The same woman continued. "Your High Queen has proven to be unsafe and nearly let her personal feelings get in the way of safety in the Underground. If it weren't for you and your Jareth, they would all have been dead. We are here to choose a new High queen or king. From now on, you two will be tasked on training the new High Monarch on the emotional ways of ruling, to teach compassion but to also use logic and self control." They all bowed. "We shall go now. Good luck on all your endeavors, Conquerers." And they ascended through the beam of light.

Sarah was dumbfounded. THESE were the aliens that Jareth had told her about on their first date? Jareth answered her before she could even open her mouth. "They are only a very small fraction of beings that exist in the universe, although we do not know about them much either. They have only come to see us when a new High King or Queen is chosen. It's been eons and eons ago since they've chosen the last one." He dusted off his shirt, and helped Sarah up. "Wait, so, you mean Kara is really old?" Jareth nodded. Sarah made a large "O" with her mouth. There was so much information, and she still wasn't sure how to handle anything.

Jareth put his arm around her. "You're exhausted, I'm exhausted, and it's been a long day. Let's go check on the goblins for a bit, maybe see your friends and then we can sleep. We'll figure everything out eventually, don't worry. I love you, Sarah." Sarah squeezed his arm. "I love you too, Jareth." Everything was still uncertain, but one thing was for sure. She wasn't going to let Jareth go again, and wanted to be with him forever. After all, forever isn't long at all.

* * *

 **Ugh guys I am sorry for not posting sooner. I had to go to urgent care and write my essays for class. I'm pretty much alright now. Anyways, I just rewatched the scene from the movie where he sings Within You. Putting that in the context of my story really makes me more emotional since he's singing it in the sense that he loved Sarah so much but was forced to be cruel to her and not say what he really wanted to during her Run.**

 **Anyways, there should be another chapter after this, to really tie things up. If you want a sequel, just let me know and I'll write it, although it probably won't be anytime soon unless there's a demand for it. I'll probably write another fic first. Thanks all!**

 **NOTE: I have now written a sequel called Goddess of Fire. I'm in the process of editing it again (don't you hate autocorrect?). Anyways, thanks for reading this far and I hope you like the ending! 3 9/13/17**


	14. The Pain Sweeps Through

**Cherish B: Man that review made my day! The only reason that I'm posting so quickly is because I already wrote a basic outline for each chapter. I ended up adding or taking away some chapters, but making an outline certainly helps. It also gives me an incentive to finish the story. I do agree that it's kind of faced paced, but I was also hoping that with the time jumps that it's clear that Sarah and Jareth took their time to fall in love and get to know each other again. While I do not feel like my story is up to par with many of the great stories out there, I'm also glad that I get to share with you! I may go back and edit some things, but for now, I'll leave it where it is. I have an idea for a new fic soon, so keep a lookout for it! Thank you so much for your review and I hope you like this chapter as well!**

* * *

The God and Goddesses have chosen a new High Monarch, this time a king. Still a young babe, he will someday grow to have many powers. Raina retired above, to live the rest of her days as a human with her husband, never to return to the Underground for her carelessness and for growing crueler over the years, becoming an ineffective queen. Still, she was living a nice life above and she seemed a lot happier.

Normally, a new High Monarch will be taken away from his or her parents to be raised somewhere else, but Jareth and Sarah had different ideas. "As a monarch that was taken from his parents, I won't allow that." Jareth was adamant that he will be raised properly, with love and care. He would NOT be responsible for letting a child grow up to be a heartless or logicless monarch. Sarah stood by his side, agreeing with everything he was saying. "As one of the two people you have appointed to care and train for him emotionally, I think I speak for Jareth when we say that we will do things our way."

The Head Goddess nodded. "Very well. One more thing, the position of High Monarch should never be vacant, which is why I will appoint you, Sarah, to be regent until he is of age. That means that you will be formally addressed as High Queen until then. You will be addressed as Your Highness instead of Your Majesty to remind others that you are queen but only temporarily. It is also your responsibility to appoint brand new ambassadors for the new king when it is time." Sarah bowed her head, accepting this position. It won't be easy, but with Jareth at her side, she could do anything.

After the god and goddesses left, it was time to move onto another task. One that Sarah in particular was dreading.

* * *

The rest of the monarchs filed in, and a mirror was revealed. They all gasped as they saw Kara stuck inside. Jareth felt a little deja vu, but forced his worry to go away. He was an adult now, respected by the other monarchs even though he often got on their nerves for his unique stance of being blunt instead of carefully phrasing his words.

Sarah held the owl necklace that Jareth had bought for her. It made her nervous to confront her stepmother again, but she was now the High Queen (although temporarily) and must do what she needed to do, unlike Raina. Jareth reached for her free hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. Sarah took a deep breath, and began Kara's trial.

"Kara Iliane Trobera. You are here before the monarchs of the Underground because you have attempted murder and have not fully repented of your sins. You have withheld knowledge from us of the existence your daughter, Lisa Arianne Anderson, who was born out of a prohibited reunion. While we would not have hurt her, you have damned your own daughter to a life of evil and destruction. You have also wielded magic to raise the dead, and this is not your first offense. You have again disturbed the graves of the dead and possessed a child's body to deceive me and the King of Goblins. Do you deny these charges?"

Kara spat at the regent, causing and uproar. The monarchs all used their magic to bind her down. Sarah walked towards her, overcoming her fear that she would die in her stepmother's presence. She had to trust Jareth and the other monarchs to protect her as well. Bending down to where Kara was, she continued. "Kara, answer us. Do you or do you not deny these charges?" Kara sat there stubbornly, but answered a small "No, I do not deny your words."

Satisfied, Sarah stood up and faced the crowed. "My proposal is to have her executed. This is a harsh punishment, yes, but we have seen that she will not repent of her sins and will always try to come back. Queen Raina had given her too much freedom, and as long as she lives, we will always worry. Any opposed to this verdict?"

Not one raised their hands. Jareth nodded, speaking up. "Your Highness, regent to the High Monarch and Conquerer of the Labyrinth, not one of us is opposed. If you will allow, the Queen of Elves and I will prepare the execution." Sarah nodded, feeling numb.

Every monarch stood still, watching as the murderess walked toward the platform. Kara also stood still, with her head still looking proud and angry, the rope around her neck, watiing for the floor to disappear. The Dwarf King cleared his throat. "Any last words, Kara?"

She took a look around the room, then rested her eyes on Sarah. She opened her mouth to manipulate Sarah one last time. "YOU. YOU ARE THE REASON I AM HERE! YOU ARE NOTHING AND ONLY RELY ON YOUR KING FOR PROTECTION. YOU ARE A PATHETIC LITTLE WHORE AND-"

No one would know what she would say next. Jareth flicked his wrist, and held her throat her shut, effectively choking her. "Now," he growled. He would NOT let her last words be more manipulative and self destructing words to his love. The Elf Queen made the floor disappear, and the unmistakable crack came from Kara's neck breaking.

* * *

Sarah wished that she could be done for the day, but there was one more trial, one that was would no doubt be more difficult for her to complete. Jareth put a hand on the small of her back, always reassuring that he was there for her. Once again, she put her emotions aside and did what had to be done.

Opening the door, she and Jareth came in to see her father. Robert was worse for wear, to say the least. After he had left them, he tried to escape incognito. Unfortunately, he was no match for Jareth's guards. They found him trying to escape to Florida, and brought him to the Underground instead.

This was much different than Kara's trial. For one, no other monarchs were there but her and Jareth. Unfortunately, Jareth couldn't do the talking. Sarah still had to be the one to try him, since she was High Queen, a station above Jareth's. Robert looked so broken and sad that Sarah almost let him go. But, she remembered what Raina did to let Kara go. She had to remain strong.

"Robert Edward Williams, you are on trial today for erasing my memory, transporting me Above without my permission, child neglect of your son and daughter in the hands of your wife, and tampering with King Jareth's letter to me, a Monarch's letter no less. These are grievous crimes, and do you deny them?"

Robert looked like he was about to make excuses, but one look from Jareth shut him down. He sighed and shook his head. "No, your Highness." Sarah looked at Jareth for confirmation, and he nodded. "You are to be stripped of your powers and your memories and be replaced as you live Above for the rest of your days, exiled from the Underground. Your memories will be altered so that you will not want to have any more children." Sarah choked on the last word. She loved her father and wanted his love, but it had to be done. He already neglected two children and manipulated them. She would not let it happen to any more children.

Unlike Kara, Robert held his head down, defeated. This almost made Sarah reverse her verdict, as he seemed repentant. But, after all he had done, he could not be trusted. Letting him have another chance at love and a happy life Above was the generous thing to do.

"Any last words?" Jareth asked him. Robert shook his head.

Jareth threw a crystal at his head, erasing memories of Sarah and everyone else he knew and knocking him out. Sarah created a portal and they walked him through to his new apartment. She kissed his head. "sweet dreams, dad." May he have happiness in this new life.

Sarah was silent when they came back. After seeing that everyone was gone, she collapsed into Jareth's chest, where she would cry all night long.

* * *

 **So this chapter is short, but not the end either. I thought this would be the end but I realized that there were too many loose ends to tie up! The next chapter is basically fluff and happy stuff. It'll probably be posted in a few hours. Thank you all for reading!**


	15. A Love That Will Last

It has been 6 months since Sarah and Jareth had come back to the Underground. Sarah was adjusting well to her new job as the High Queen, but also served as Jareth's chief advisor. The most work to be done was the Labyrinth itself. The pair worked very hard to ensure that the goblins and Jareth's other subjects were happy and healthy.

They were also happy and healthy. No longer was someone manipulating Sarah. No longer were Jareth's words questioned just for the sake of it when the monarchs had their meetings, but he was now respected (although he still got on their nerves quite often). It was a happy time for both of them, but, it could be better. And Sarah knew exactly how to do that.

Blind folding the King, Sarah lead him to a place that she had spent all week preparing without his knowing. "Oh Sarah, tell me what this madness is." Jareth tried to sound annoyed, but Sarah could hear the giddiness in his voice. He couldn't help it, Sarah was adorably excited.

"Okay," she said. "Open."

Jareth looked around, mouth wide open. Sarah had decorated the garden with strings of lights all around, emulating the night sky. Sweet smelling peach trees covered the edges. Jareth looked closely, and saw that on each of the peach trees were pictures of them from their time Above. A small bench sat beneath the two largest trees with their names etched on it. Snapping her fingers, their outfits changed. Gone was her formal dress from the trials that day, and in its place was the same poofy dress from years ago, but with less puffy sleeves. Strings of silver ribbons graces her large mane, and small slippers wrapped around her feet.

Jareth wore the same midnight blue jacket as that night, but this time, without gloves and without games. It was just the two of them. Sarah took Jareth's hand, and led him to the middle where a small platform stood. Reaching her hand out, palm down, she raised the circular platform into a small table. Snapping her fingers, a small tapestry appeared. Jareth held it, amazed at the craftsmanship that went into it. The tapestry was a picture of both him and Sarah dressed as they were now, but dancing in each other's arms in a setting exactly like this one. Sarah really was incredible with a needle.

With tears in his eyes, Jareth clutched the tapestry to his heart. He beckoned Sarah to come closer, but instead of hugging him, she knelt down, careful to not make her dress dirty. After a moment of confusion, Jareth finally understood what she was trying to say.

"Oh Jareth," Sarah said lovingly. "All my life, I have never had a friend like you, one that was so kind and sweet. You truly cared about me to want to make sure that I was alright no matter our relationship status. You and I argued, but you were understanding. I've loved you ever since we were children, and you were patient enough to let me fall in love with you again after my memory was gone. You didn't make me choose between my father and you. You helped me overcome my trauma and encouraged me to be my best self. That is what love really is." She stood up, took the tapestry from his hands and put it back on the platform. She took both his hands in hers and kissed them adoringly. "Years ago, you asked me to fear you, love you, do as you say, and you'd be my slave. For a long time, I did not see those words as love but words out of desperation to keep me in the Labyrinth or a strange form of possessiveness.

"I now understand what it means. I didn't understand that you had known me and loved me long before my Run. You were asking me to marry you, or at least, to promise that I would. You asked me to fear you, not to be scared of you, but to fear you in the sense that you mean so much to me, and that I would be terrified if that went away or if something happened to you. And I do. You asked me to love you, and I do. I love you so much that I would sacrifice anything I could for you, just as you did for me. You asked me to do as you say, to stay with you. And while we will debate, I know that I would do many things that you asked and I will stay with you. You said you'd be my slave, to give me my dreams. I don't want that, Jareth. I am yours, if you will have me. Will you marry me?"

It didn't matter that she had practiced many times or knew in her heart that Jareth would say yes, but it still made her nervous. Jareth beamed, his heart swelled at the thought that this woman in front of him wanted him. He had waited for her to talk to him about marriage, to take things at her pace. He gently pulled her hands to his lips, kissed them in the same fashion that she had kissed his, and brought them to his chest. "Sarah, nothing would make me more proud to call you my wife and queen." He picked her up, and Sarah shrieked as he spun her around before planting a kiss on her lips.

Sarah held his ungloved hand (something he did more often now that he was experienced with magic and had Sarah nearby) and placed a beautiful titanium ring on his left ring finger. The inscription inside had both their names, and the outside had a labyrinth etched in, signifying their rule over it and their permanent home. Jareth reached up to stroke his fiancée's face before giving her another kiss. It tasted so sweet, so pure. He gave her a small kiss on the neck before producing a crystal.

Sarah looked curiously at it and at Jareth's smiling face. "Oh, you precious thing. I have something too." He opened the crystal like a ring box, and inside were two rings, and engagement ring and a wedding band. The wedding band was simple rose-gold band with a small crystal etched inside a mirror on the back of it, showing their mediums uniting. The engagement ring had a sapphire in the middle, with two small diamonds on either side shaped like leaves. The ring itself twisted around to look like a delicate vine on her finger.

Sarah was delighted. Giving her been fiancé a kiss, she asked "Now, Goblin King, what do you say we have a dance?" Jareth chuckled. "Only if I get to sing, future Goblin Queen. Your singing is god-awful." Sarah smacked his arm and he laughed even louder. "RUDE." "What? When you sang to me in the hospital, I'm sure I woke up and got my powers back just so I could shut you up!" Sarah gave him another punch, but couldn't help blushing. She could feel Jareth's deep chuckle as she rested her head on his chest. "I'll do the singing, alright?" He kissed her and sang their song.

 _There's such a sad love_  
 _Deep in your eyes A kind of pale jewel_  
 _Open and closed Within your eyes_  
 _I'll place the sky_  
 _Within your eyes_

 _There's such a fooled heart_  
 _Beatin' so fast_  
 _In search of new dreams_  
 _A love that will last_  
 _Within your heart_  
 _I'll place the moon_  
 _Within your heart_

 _As the pain sweeps through,_  
 _Makes no sense for you_  
 _Every thrill is gone_  
 _Wasn't too much fun at all,_  
 _But I'll be there for you_  
 _As the world falls down_

 _Falling_  
 _Falling down_  
 _Falling in love_

 _I'll paint you mornings of gold_  
 _I'll spin you Valentine evenings_  
 _Though we're strangers 'til now,_  
 _We're choosing the path_  
 _Between the stars_  
 _I'll leave my love_  
 _Between the stars_

 _As the pain sweeps through,_  
 _Makes no sense for you_  
 _Every thrill is gone_  
 _Wasn't too much fun at all,_  
 _But I'll be there for you_  
 _As the world falls down_

* * *

"Erna, that's a little too tight now!" Sarah tried to gasp for air, but the little female goblin had laced her dress too tight. "Oooh, sorry your Highness! I just am so excited for the wedding and I can't wait to call you Your Majesty from now on!" She squeaked. Sarah couldn't be too mad at Erna. She was adorable and a great personal servant for her. She slipped on the Underground wedding attire, a beautiful white dress with golden leaves all around the sleeves and neckline. She wore the owl necklace that Jareth gave her from their first date, a constant reminder that she loved him. Next to the owl pendant was the little locket of Toby's hair that Jareth gave her, also a reminder that Toby would be there in his own way. She placed both the engagement ring and the wedding ring on her hand, dressing quite simply for a bride and a queen. Simple elegance was her style. She was not yet wearing a crown or had a pendant of her own for she wasn't yet a Goblin Queen, but would have her coronation immediately after the wedding ceremony today, for the Goblin Kingdom was gaining a new queen today.

Erna did her hair into a braid then made a bun out of it, with two small strands curled to frame her face. It kind of reminded Sarah of Princess Leia. Speaking of Leia, she was going to have to tell Jareth to get a TV or something so they could enjoy all the Aboveground movies instead of just watching them in theaters when they visited.

She peaked over and saw Jareth, looking as handsome as ever. He refused to tame his hair, and Sarah wouldn't have it any other way. He wore a dark vest over his white shirt, and wore black pants with new boots. She spotted the wedding band that she had for him, seeing that he was twisting it around, a new habit that he did when he was nervous. Even through it all, they were so happy and excited to be married.

In the Underground both men and women were equal, so instead of being given away, Sarah and Jareth came from opposite sides of the room with a sheet dividing them. The sheet was lifted, and the two lovers held hands as the officiator pronounced them husband and wife. The wedding was a little different. Instead of being held at the special place where all monarchs married, Sarah and Jareth opted to marry right there in the garden where Sarah proposed. They opened it up so all the monarchs and as many goblins as possible could act as witnesses to the wedding.

"Do you, Jareth, Conquerer of the Labyrinth and King of Goblins, promise to love, cherish, and support Sarah, Labyrinth Conquerer, regent of the High Monarch and acting High Queen, throughout the worst of times and the best of times as your wife and queen for the rest of your life?" Jareth answered with a resounding "es." The officiator turned to Sarah. "And do you, Sarah, Conquerer of the Labyrinth, regent of the High Monarch and acting High Queen, promise to love, cherish, and support Jareth, Labyrinth Conquerer and King of Goblins, throughout the worst of times and the best of times as your husband and king for the rest of your life?" Sarah gave Jareth a tiny smile. "Yes." "You may now have your first kiss of husband and wife." Jareth bent down as Sarah tiptoed up, and kissed.

Immediately after the wedding ceremony, it was time for Sarah's coronation. Jareth sat in his throne, and they were surrounded by all the ambassadors this time. Jareth had on a crown, one that was worn for very few occasions such as this. Hoggle held her crown in a pllow next to Jareth. No one was smiling yet; this was a solemn ceremony.

Sarah approached her new husband with his scepter in her hands (a symbol that she would rule as queen and not just be a consort), and kneeled at his feet. Jareth stood up. "This is a solemn ceremony that we have gathered here today, but not a sad one by any means for today, the Goblin Kingdon will have a new queen. Sarah, as Queen of Goblins, you will be required to always put the lives and safety of our subjects as a priority. Along with me, its king, you will also be tasked in caring for any abandoned Aboveground children. Do you vow to protect the subjects of this land as its queen and to rule righteously and honestly with me by your side as equals?" Sarah dipped her head down. "I do, Jareth, King of Goblins. Do you vow to rule by my side, as my equal as well?" Jareth bowed in return. "I do." Taking the crown from Hoggle, he placed it on Sarah's head. He took his scepter from her hands and helped her up to stand in front her new throne by his side.

Jareth made a fist and crossed his right arm against his chest and knelt on one knee, facing Sarah. The ambassadors followed suit. "Long Live the Queen!" He bellowed out. "Long Live the Queen!" The rest yelled. Hoggle rang the ceremonial bell that would ring throughout the kingdom, signifying that a new monarch was crowned. Jareth kissed his new queen and bride's hand before getting back up.

* * *

The reception was boring, to say the least. Sarah and Jareth waited as every goblin (or so it seemed) came to pay their respects to their newly married king and new queen. When that was over, they tried as hard as they could to not scarf down the delicious food instead of daintily picking it up piece by piece politely. Jareth nudged at Sarah. "Love, I have an idea. Make a portal for and transfer it to our new chambers." Sarah looked at him, incredulous. "Really Jareth!" He smirked. "Yes I am serious! Do it now before they close everything and make us meet more dreadful people who honestly don't give a goblin's hairpiece about our wedding or your coronation." Sarah thought about it for a moment. "Would that be alright to do?" Jareth gave Sarah the are-you-serious look. "Sarah, this is OUR wedding and YOUR coronation. Of course this food is ours! Pleeeeeeeease?" Sarah tried to not snicker. "Alright." When no one was looking, she transferred each plate of food into the mirror and had Erna arrange them onto a nice table and to keep it warm or cool for them, depending on the type of food. Jareth smiled, pleased that he would be eating more food tonight.

During the ball, Jareth convinced Sarah to retire early. "Oh come on Sarah, no one is going to notice us. They're just here to celebrate and meet each other. Plus, I've arranged for one of my ambassadors, yes the Southern Guardian's Ambassador, to say that you have a headache at midnight to make everyone go home." He had a twinkle in his eye. She was a woman, she knew exactly why he wanted to escape.

"Oh yeah?" She stood closer, flirting with her new husband, tracing her finger lightly down his chest. "What will we do? Hmm?" Jareth smiled the smile that showed all of his teeth. "Oh, we could eat the food that you transferred over." Jareth traced his finger on her collar bone and around her neck. "And, Precious, I think you know what else we should do..." Sarah gave him a knowing smile before kissing him passionately.

Jareth carried his bride in his arms without breaking their kiss, and slammed their bedroom door shut.

* * *

 **Whooo! I'm done with this fic! Thank you all for reading until the very end. I know some of you are disappointed because I didn't explore the wedding night, but maybe for another M rated fic ;) I felt that it was important that after all Jareth did for Sarah and her multiple rejections that she would be the one to propose to him. Thank you again and please keep those reviews. They really do help or at least give me confidence! Until my next fic!**


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